Duty called and Brian Gilligan answered
The Mount Prospect resident and accounting and business professor at Morton College in Cicero will put his 22 years of experience as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve to use with a seven-month stint in Kabul, Afghanistan.
While Gilligan’s stint starts March 1, he won’t immediately be sent to Afghanistan. The current trustee on the Mount Prospect Library Board will spend several weeks stateside preparing for his mission before heading overseas.
Gilligan, a Commander in the Navy Reserve, will serve as the Chief Intelligence Officer to the Information Officer at the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) International Joint Command in Kabul. His most recent assignment was as Production and Operations Officer for the Office of the Naval Intelligence Reserve Unit ONI 1992, located at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. Among other positions held in his 22-year career included a three-year stint as Training and Readiness Officer for a 100-member Intelligence Unit located at Fort Sheridan, IL.
“I’m certainly looking forward to contributing to the mission and assisting our hard-working, dedicated military personnel in whatever capacity I can,” said Gilligan, a former board member for Mount Prospect School District 59. “Hopefully, my past leadership assignments have prepared me well for this upcoming opportunity.”
Gilligan, promoted to Commander in 2010, is a recipient of the Navy Commendation Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, three Joint Service Achievement Medals, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Overseas Service Medal, and Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal.
Gilligan received a nice sendoff from his Morton College colleagues on February 18, when he was recognized as the College recipient of the Full-Time Faculty Service Award for 2012.
The former executive director of the O’Hare Noise Compatibility Commission added, “Certainly, I’m going to miss my family (wife Janice and son Kyle), friends and work colleagues while I’m away. I’m heartened by the support they have always shown me. They’ll sustain me while I’m gone.”