General Downing retired as the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Special Operations Command, having served 34 years in the U.S. Army. Following his retirement, General Downing directed the 1996 Khobar Towers commission and served as a commissioner on the 2000 National Commission on Terrorism. In 2001, General Downing served the White House as National Director and Deputy National Security Advisor for Combating Terrorism. Finally, in 2003, General Downing was appointed as the first Distinguished Chair of the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point until his sudden and untimely death in 2007.