Galen B . Jackman Galen Bruce Jackman ( born in 1951 ) is a retired United States Army Major General . His last assignment in the Army was serving in the Pentagon as the Army ' s Chief Legislative Liaison . The Office of the Chief Legislative Liaison ( United States Army ) ( OCLL ) operates directly under the Office of the Secretary of the Army . Its mission is to coordinate efforts between the US Army and Congress . Prior to his assignment with the OCLL , he was the first commanding general of the Joint Force Headquarters National Capital Region ( JFHQ - NCR ) , a dual - hatted role combined with commanding the Military District of Washington ( MDW ) . After his retirement from the U . S . Army , Jackman was hired in October 2008 by Raytheon Company , a Massachusetts - based defense contractor , as the vice - president over U . S . Army Programs , U . S . Business Development . Jackman may be best known for his role during the seven days in June 2004 that marked the death and state funeral of Ronald Reagan . As the then - commanding general of the MDW ( CG MDW ) , he became a known figure when he escorted former First Lady Nancy Reagan , the former president ' s wife . Early life . Jackman was born in August 1951 in Scottsbluff , Nebraska and is one of at least three children born to Virgil and Maxine Jackman . At the time of his birth , Jackman ' s parents lived in the nearby city of Gering , where the family lived until they moved to Nebraska ' s capital , Lincoln , in 1965 . Jackman graduated from Lincoln East High School in 1969 . Military career . Jackman attended the University of Nebraska - Lincoln on an Army ROTC scholarship . While at the University he became an active member of the military fraternity , the Pershing Rifles , a fraternity known for including many who later became successful Army officers . Upon graduation he was commissioned into active duty in the U . S . Army in June 1973 . His first duty assignment was with the 1st Battalion ( ABN ) 508th Infantry , 82nd Airborne Division , Fort Bragg , North Carolina , where he served as a rifle platoon leader , anti - tank platoon leader , company executive officer , and battalion adjutant . He next served with the 1st Battalion , 21st Infantry , 25th Infantry Division , Schofield Barracks , Hawaii , as a battalion S4 , rifle company commander , and battalion S3 . Following assignment as a Procurement Officer with the United States Missile Command , Redstone Arsenal , Alabama , he served at Fort Bragg as Procurement Officer , Squadron Executive Officer , and Support Squadron Commander in 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment - Delta ( Airborne ) ( 1st SFOD - D ( A ) ) , more commonly known as " Delta Force . " Jackman has commanded the 1st Battalion , 14th Infantry , 25th Infantry Division ( Light ) ; 2nd Brigade , 7th Infantry Division ( Light ) , Fort Ord , California ; and the Ranger Training Brigade , Fort Benning , Georgia . It was under then - Colonel Jackman ' s command at the Ranger Training Brigade that four Ranger Candidates were killed in training on February 15 , 1995 in the Florida swamps of Eglin Air Force Base . Killed were Captain Milton Palmer , Second Lieutenant Curt G . Sansoucie , Second Lieutenant Spencer D . Dodge , and Sergeant Norman Tillman . It was reported to be the worst incident in the Ranger School ' s 44 - year history . Multiple accounts held the leadership climate , both at the command level and at the trainer level , responsible for the multiple errors that led to the training accident and deaths . Among the reasons named for the deaths include the command ' s lack of a proper risk assessment of the weather conditions surrounding the exercise before it took place and the Ranger trainers ' decision to continue with the exercise despite poor training conditions and high water dangers . As a result of the accident , the Ranger School ' s command changed swamp training to include more food and sleep for trainees and now require trainers to go into potentially high water before their trainees do . No evidence exists to suggest that Jackman suffered any career - related consequences due to the incident . Following his command at the Ranger Training Brigade , Jackman served as the Director of Combined Arms and Tactics at the United States Army Infantry School at Fort Benning , as well as the Deputy J3 for Training and Readiness , United States Pacific Command ( USPACOM ) , Hawaii . He was then assigned as Chief of Staff , 10th Mountain Division ( Light Infantry ) , Fort Drum , New York , during which he participated as part of NATO ' s " Follow - on Force " in Operation Joint Forge , Bosnia - Herzegovina . Shortly thereafter he was made Assistant Division Commander for Support for the 10th Mountain Division . Jackman served as Director of Operations , United States Southern Command ( USSOUTHCOM ) from 2001 – 2003 , concentrating mostly on anti - drug and anti - terrorism endeavours . He took command of the MDW in mid - 2003 and subsequently the JFHQ - NCR in late 2004 at its official inception . While in this dual command capacity , Jackman organized the proceedings and security for the dedication of the World War II Memorial on the National Mall and its accompanying WWII reunion , organized former President Ronald Reagan ' s state funeral , served as the official escort to the former President ' s wife , former First Lady Nancy Reagan , and served as commander of the Joint Task Force - Armed Forces Inaugural Committee for President George W . Bush ' s 2005 Presidential Inauguration . Jackman was assigned as the Army ' s Chief of Legislative Liaison on July 21 , 2005 . He retired from that position , and the U . S . Army after 35 years of service , in July 2008 . Personal life . In 1982 Jackman married Cathy ( née Dowd ) , herself the daughter of a retired Army officer . Cathy Jackman is originally from Fayetteville , North Carolina and is a 1970 graduate of Terry Sanford High School . The Jackmans have two sons , David and Patrick . David Jackman is a graduate of Guilford College in Greensboro , North Carolina . Qualifications and decorations . Education and training . Jackman graduated from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in 1973 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History . After entering the U . S . Army in June , he completed the three - month Infantry Officer Basic Course , United States Army Infantry School , Fort Benning , Georgia , towards the end of 1973 . He later completed the six - month Infantry Officer Advanced Course , also at the United States Army Infantry School , in 1978 . In 1983 , Jackman graduated after attending the US Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth , Kansas after nearly a year of study . That same year , he earned a Masters of Science degree in Acquisition / Procurement and Contract Management from the Florida Institute of Technology . Finally , Jackman attended the Industrial College of the Armed Forces , ( Ft . Lesley J . McNair in SW Washington , D . C . ) , completing his year - long studies in 1992 .