James March-April 2024 online - Flipbook - Page 10
There are approximately 10 million
people nationwide enrolled in community colleges, so these rankings are a
big deal. And some mighty big names
have come out of GMC, including Carl
Vinson, Oliver Hardy (working at the
theater in Milledgeville was the start
of his showbiz career), former Gov.
George Busbee, University of Georgia
Coach Wally Butts and the man who
brought football to UGA, Charles Herty.
Caldwell was a senior military assistant to Deputy Secretary of Defense
Paul Wolfowitz, later commanded the
82nd Airborne and would eventually
assume command of the NATO Training Mission for Afghan National Security Forces. During this time, he would
earn his third star as a lieutenant general. His final command, ironically, was
of the U.S. Army North (also known as
the Fifth Army) which just so happened to be William B. Caldwell, III’s
A perfect fit for GMC
final command. And that’s his father.
Just how “Military” is GMC?
Caldwell made the move to MilledDepending on the way you count, a
geville not two months following his
little or a lot. First, the president of the Army retirement. He has overseen
school is a former Army general. Lt.
continued expansion and growth
Gen. (Ret.) William B. Caldwell, IV is
of the school. Consider that in addithe 21st president and has served in
tion to Milledgeville and the online
that role since 2013. His name might
“campus,” there are now 11 satellite
even ring a bell for those paying close
locations across the state, including
attention during the first ten or so
military-base adjacent to Augusta (Fort
years of the war in Afghanistan. He
Eisenhower), Columbus (Fort Moore),
was commissioned as an Infantry
Warner Robins (Robins Air Force Base)
Officer from West Point in 1976 and
and Valdosta (Moody Air Force Base).
would move to the highest levels of the There is a metro Atlanta location in
U.S. Army. He was named a general in Fairburn, an I-16 campus in Dublin
2001, a fateful year to earn that rank.
and an I-20 campus in Madison. Those
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MARC H/ A PR I L 2024
campuses and others are available as
somewhat of a regional hub for rural
areas, offering critical opportunity for
“non-traditional” students who may be
working, raising a family or otherwise
unable or not wanting to attend a fouryear school away from home.
“Times have certainly changed,
but on these historic grounds we
continue to instill the values of duty,
honor and country, concurrent with
an education that sharpens minds and
readies students to pursue their future
goals,” says Caldwell.
Five cadet programs available
In addition to a general as president, there are the GMC cadets, a prominent and flagship program comprised
of five different groups. The first group
is called the State Service Scholar
Program, for men and women in the
Georgia National Army or Air Guard.
Those who want to earn their associate
degree can attend and be a cadet while
serving part-time in the Guard. The
scholarship does not offer a commission but does make cadets competitive
