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We met when he applied as a Tactical Officer at Georgia Military College and
came in for the interview process. The main responsibility of a TAC officer was
to supervise and keep order in the barracks for the Junior College cadets and
the chosen person was to be the first one hired full-time for this newly
approved position. He was born and raised in Milledgeville, and recently
retired from the U.S. Army; out long enough to grow a head-full of hair and he
was dressed in jeans, a t-shirt and a baseball cap.
We chatted as he waited in my office to be interviewed by my supervisor who at
that time was LTC (Retired) Thomas Murphy, a veteran of the Vietnam War and a
recipient of a Purple Heart. After about a half hour of conversation with the
Commandant of Cadets, he left with a wave of good bye and I returned to my
regular summer activities thinking that I would never see him again. It was
July, 1994 and I had been employed at GMC for nearly ten years.
Within a few days a soldier appeared in my office with a military
style haircut, spit-shined boots and a starched and immaculate
uniform; it was our new TAC officer reporting and his name was Calvin
Hill, although he bore little resemblance to the candidate who had
interviewed, it was the same person, transformed from a civilian back
to a soldier and reporting to duty.
It did not take long for us to bond, although I was a few years older
than Calvin; we had so much in common and enjoyed talking about our
families and life in a small town. Calvin established his office in
Vinson Hall and immediately began what some called his "reign of
terror." He was in charge of discipline and keeping the barracks
clean and safe; there were several categories of cadets living in his
area but they were all males, the females lived in Main Barracks, and
many of his charges were football players who were only interested in
sports, they just did the military part because it was required.
Over the years we suffered through catastrophes, deployments because
of military requirements, automobile accidents, sickness and deaths in
the family and Calvin always knew when the stories were real and when
they were embellished.
CSM Hill could spot a lie, out think the smartest students, and
identify culprits skipping taps on the antique cameras in the hallways
like no one else. He issued bullring hours (punishment) to anyone who
broke the rules and hearing the sound of cadets doing pushups was a
sound that we all recognized.
You would think that the cadets hated this man but he did what he did
because he wanted them to get a good education and prosper, they left
Georgia Military College with love in their hearts for this soldier
who issued out tough-love to one and all; he was an equal opportunity
disciplinarian.
Rest in Peace my friend.
Brenda S. Brown
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