Colonel Michael J. Cleary was the Deputy Brigade Commander, 358th Civil Affairs (CA) Brigade in Norristown PA from July 1999 until June 2001. He served as commander of the Combined Joint Civil Military Task Force for eight months in 1998 in Operation Joint Guard 37 (Bosnia) and previously served as brigade G2 (Intelligence) and G5 (Plans). He retired in June 2001.COL Cleary earned his bachelor’s degree at the LaSalle College, Philadelphia, PA, a master’s degree in Political Science from Villanova University and a Juris Doctor degree from the Delaware Law School. He has served in various assignments in the Army Reserve, to include the 416th Civil Affairs Battalion, 304th Civil Affairs Brigade, 358th Civil Affairs Brigade, and as an individual military augmentee. COL Cleary has deployed on numerous overseas operations. He served in Operation Just Cause in Panama and was instrumental in establishing the training program for the Panama police force. He deployed for Operation Desert Storm, where he documented human rights abuses in Kuwait City. He served in two overseas assignments in Haiti, first as a Civil Affairs staff officer in the Haiti Assistance mission in 1993 and second as part of the Ministerial Advisory Team in Operation Uphold Democracy in 1994 as Ministry of Justice advisor. He subsequently deployed to Haiti, serving on Ministerial Advisory Teams II, III and IV and as commander of Ministerial Advisory Teams V and VI from 1995 through 1997.COL Cleary is an assistant district attorney for the City of Philadelphia.