Uploaded February 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Major General Yeager recently retired as the Commander of the 40th Infantry Division and the California Army National Guard. She currently serves as a member of the UCI Alumni Association Board of Directors. This informal, conversational speaker series explores how student experiences have profoundly impacted the career paths and life journeys of some of UCI’s many distinguished alumni.
Major General Yeager began service in 1986 in the Army after commissioning as a Second Lieutenant from the Reserve Officer Training Corps program at CSU Long Beach and following graduation from UC Irvine having earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. She has held staff and leadership positions of increasing responsibility as both a medical service corps and aviation officer at multiple duty locations across the country. She is qualified as a helicopter pilot and deployed to Iraq in 2011 as the Deputy Commander for the 40th Combat Aviation Brigade.
Major General Yeager holds a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology from Chapman University College and a Master’s in Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College. In her assignment as the Commander of the 40th Infantry Division and the California Army National Guard, she commanded over 13,000 Soldiers, managed budgets in excess of $100 million, the hundreds of vehicles and aircraft throughout the state of California to remain prepared to support state emergencies and federal deployments.
Major General Yeager recently retired as the Commander of the 40th Infantry Division and the California Army National Guard. She currently serves as a member of the UCI Alumni Association Board of Directors. This informal, conversational speaker series explores how student experiences have profoundly impacted the career paths and life journeys of some of UCI’s many distinguished alumni.
Major General Yeager began service in 1986 in the Army after commissioning as a Second Lieutenant from the Reserve Officer Training Corps program at CSU Long Beach and following graduation from UC Irvine having earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. She has held staff and leadership positions of increasing responsibility as both a medical service corps and aviation officer at multiple duty locations across the country. She is qualified as a helicopter pilot and deployed to Iraq in 2011 as the Deputy Commander for the 40th Combat Aviation Brigade.
Major General Yeager holds a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology from Chapman University College and a Master’s in Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College. In her assignment as the Commander of the 40th Infantry Division and the California Army National Guard, she commanded over 13,000 Soldiers, managed budgets in excess of $100 million, the hundreds of vehicles and aircraft throughout the state of California to remain prepared to support state emergencies and federal deployments.
