Colonel Phillip G. Deaton

Colonel Deaton received his Commission and AS Degree from Marion Military Institute in 1985 and holds a BA, BS and MS Degrees from Mississippi State University as well as an MS Degree from Troy University. He is a graduate of the Ordnance Officers Basic and Advanced Courses, Logistics Executive Development Course, Combined Arms Service Staff School, Command & General Staff College, DoD Program Managers Course, and the Air War College. He is a Lean/Six Sigma Blackbelt and Level III Defense Acquisition Certified in Contracting, Logistics and Program Management with professional certifications in Program Management (Syracuse University), Supply Chain Management (University of Alabama Huntsville), Contract Management (Florida Institute of Technology), and Executive Logistics Management (Society of Logistics Engineers).

Over a distinguished thirty-plus year career, Colonel Deaton’s leadership and influence as an Ordnance and Acquisition Officer spanned enterprise-level sustainment support, multi-billion-dollar contracting programs, and high-priority operational missions across the US, Middle East, and Central Asia. Early assignments include service as an Adjutant for a 1,700-person Battalion; Leader/Trainer for 90 newly commissioned Lieutenants attending the Officers Basic Course; Company Commander for a 200-person organization supporting laboratory, testing and nuclear reactor operations; Executive Officer for a 750-person Battalion supporting testing operations on a 2.2 million acre missile range; Executive/Recruiting Officer for a Battalion of 580 ROTC Cadets and Cadre; Contingency Contracting Officer; Program Administrator for Aviation and Missile Research & Development Contracts; and a Defense Contracting and Life-Cycle Logistics Instructor.

His career includes multiple operational deployments, humanitarian missions and support to domestic operations managing large-scale logistics, contracting and maintenance support at tactical and operational levels. He led Technical Supply operations and managed distribution of 5,200 lines of repair parts for the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment during the Persian Gulf War; led firefighting operations that protected historical landmarks in New Mexico; provided contracting support to the 18th Airborne Corps for hurricane relief and cleanup operations in North Carolina as well as construction of a medical clinic and an C-5 capable runway in the Dominican Republic; trained Contracting Officers and developed obligation strategies for Iraq’s $18B Reconstruction Grant; led an assessment of the $1.2B Maintenance Contract in Afghanistan and oversaw distribution of 19,000 lines of Task Force parts while providing high priority parts tracking and transportation for aviation elements of the 82nd Airborne Division; directed 500 personnel and a revised $1.5B Maintenance Contract for over 300 aircraft of the 101st Airborne Division in Afghanistan and units deployed to Kuwait and Egypt; developed funding requirements and realigned theater sustainment support on deployments to Kuwait, Jordan, and Qatar; and led an autonomous mission into austere regions of Pakistan to develop modernization plans for the country’s air and ground support fleet while providing maintenance support to ongoing counterinsurgency operations.

He is credited with resolving critical maintenance and supply chain challenges while delivering multimillion-dollar cost savings, process optimization and improved readiness by facilitating retrograde, repair and procurement strategies while leading a Critical Parts War Room managing 11,000 aircraft components; maintaining an Unlimited Contracting Officer’s Warrant while directing policy, cost/price analysis and resource management in an Acquisition Center that obligated $12.3B on 17,000 contract actions for weapon systems, supplies and service support to aviation and missile units located world-wide; coordinating pre-deployment installation of aircraft special mission equipment; managing a $750M budget, $250M parts inventory and overseeing a $1.6B contract resetting 430 previously deployed aircraft; directing G-3 Operations for a 16,000-person Life-Cycle Management Command while overseeing high priority requisition support to deployed aviation units; leading multi-million-dollar cost avoidance programs through reutilization, process improvements and retrograde repair efficiencies for over 4,000 high priority requisitions resulting in a 15% reduction in unit wait times; chairing large dollar and technically complex Contract Source Selection Evaluation Boards and directing acquisition strategy and implementation of a $4.9B enterprise providing world-wide realignment of sustainment maintenance contracting for the Army’s 13 Combat Aviation Brigades; and culminating his career as the Principal Acquisition Member of the Aviation Council of Colonels and Assistant Program Executive Officer for G-3 Operations, G-4 Logistics, and Acquisition Systems Management overseeing $4.6B in property accountability and life cycle support and statutory compliance for 110 aviation programs with an annual budget of $6.8B.

Colonel Deaton’s contributions to acquisition excellence, supply chain modernization, and aviation readiness have significantly strengthened Army operational effectiveness worldwide. In addition to his military awards and decorations, his contributions have been recognized with numerous prestigious honors including the Combined Arms Support Command General Somervell Medallion; the Aviation Knight of Saint Michael Medal; the Ordnance Corps Order of Samuel Sharpe Medal; the Quartermaster Corps Philip A. Connelly Award, the Defense Acquisition University Commandant’s Medal; and the Test & Evaluation Command Professional of the Year Award.

Retiring from the Army on 31 July 2016, Phil moved to the Defense Industry as a Program Manager managing $60M in Army Aviation support contracts while earning certifications in Model-Based Systems Engineering and ISO 9001 Quality Management Auditing. He and his wife Wendy now reside outside Houston, Texas near both of their sons and daughters-in-law where he is a Consultant and University Adjunct Professor.