Fountain Valley Native To Become 1st Woman To Lead Infantry Unit

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, CA -- A local native who's spent more than three decades in the military is slated to make history later this month by becoming he first woman in history to lead a U.S. Army Infantry Division.

Brig. Gen. Laura Yeager, who grew up in a military family in Fountain Valley, will on June 29 assume command of the California National Guard’s storied 40th Infantry Division during a ceremony at the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos, according to a story in the Orange County Register.

Since October 2017, she's commanded the Joint Task Force North, U.S. Northern Command at Ft. Bliss, in Texas and was the first female commander in that organization’s 28-year history.

She began her active-duty military service in 1986 when she was commissioned as a second lieutenant from the Army ROTC program at Cal. State Long Beach. She left active duty after eight years, but continued her career as a member of the Army National Guard.

Her civilian education includes a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of California at Irvine and a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology from Chapman University College. She is also a graduate of the United States Army War College from where she earned a Master’s Degree in Strategic Studies in 2011.

She and her husband, Curtis, have four sons.