Colonel Edward DeShields

Colonel DeShields is currently serving as the chief of the Force Accounting and Documentation Division, in the Force Management Directorate, at the Headquarters Department of the Army Staff. His division is responsible for accounting all of the Army’s 1,045,000 authorizations, as well as managing the processing of all of the Army’s requirements and authorization documents for personnel and material.

A native of Snow Hill Maryland, Colonel DeShields earned his commission as an Air Defense Artillery officer in 1987 through ROTC at Bowie State University (then Bowie State College). He has served in various operational assignments, beginning with an initial assignment in 1990 to the 101St Airborne Division's Air Defense Battalion where he participated in the execution of Desert Shield / Desert Storm. Subsequent assignments include the 25TH Infantry Division in Hawaii as a Battery Commander, the Joint Readiness Training Center in Louisiana as an Observer Controller and the Battle Command Training Program in Kansas as planner in the World Class Opposing Forces.

Colonel DeShields transitioned to the Army Force Management functional area in 2001. This functional area is responsible for the management of organizational change in the Army. For the past 14 years, Colonel DeShields has served at various senior command levels and in different organizations in the Force Management capacity. His most recent operational employment in 2011 was to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom as a Chief of Force Management Requirements.

Colonel DeShields earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Bowie State in 1989 and a Master of Arts degree in General Administration from Central Michigan University in 2000. He is a graduate of the Army Air Defense Artillery Officer's Basic Course, Air Defense Artillery Advanced Course, Combined Arms and Services Staff School, Army Force Management School, and the Command and General Staff College.

His military awards and decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with seven oak leaf clusters, the Army Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster, and the Joint Service Achievement Medal. He has earned the Parachutist Badge, Air Assault Badge, Army Staff Identification Badge and the German Military Proficiency Badge. Colonel DeShields also received the Military Service Award during the Bowie State University Sesquicentennial Founders Day Awards Gala last year.

Colonel DeShields is married to the former Denise L. Purnell from Snow Hill, Maryland. They have two sons, Edward III and Elijah.