Col. Stephen Potter joined the Michigan National Guard in 1992 as a Chemical Platoon Leader and has since served in several assignments within the military police field. He has two combat deployments in support of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm and Operation Enduring Freedom. He has also deployed in numerous non-combat deployments and humanitarian relieve missions including Haiti in response to natural disasters. His latest deployment is to Liberia as part of Operation Onward Liberty. “This is a 5-year program, intended to provide uniformed US military mentors and advisors to the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) to develop the AFL’s ability to independently sustain and train the force, contribute to the development of a professional officer and NCO corps, and institute a unit training and evaluation system that reinforces an enduring AFL ability to support the national security objectives of the government of Liberia”.