On Thursday, September 4, the mantle of leadership in Jacksonville State University’s Reserve Office Training Corps will pass to Col. Richard White.White is one of the few ROTC commanders with the distinction of being a graduate of the program he is now chosen to lead.
A native of Albertville, Ala., White is sixth generation Army and came to JSU in 1985 on an ROTC scholarship. He was a military science major and upon completion of his degree in 1989 went into active duty service as an Army officer.
“I’m a sixth-generation Army brat. I didn’t have a name until I was 17. Until then I was Sergeant White’s son. Then when I was 17 I came home, got off the bus, Dad’s sitting at the table with a recruiter and said sign this. I got a name that day. I was Private White,” he said with a smile. “I say if you bleed me I’d bleed OD green.”
For eight years, White served the Army at home and overseas, working his way up the chain of command and learning to lead. In 1997, he got the chance to impart that knowledge to a new crop of prospective soldiers when he returned to his alma mater as an associate professor of military science.
He put his time at JSU to good use and earned his master’s degree in criminal justice in 1999.
After a brief stint in Jacksonville, it was back on the road for White as he served in Fort Leavenworth, Germany and was a part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Perhaps with a premonition the family would eventually return to Jacksonville, White’s wife of 11 years, Coni, and daughter Valerie moved back four years ago when Coni got a job with the Center for Domestic Preparedness on the former Fort McClellan.
When Col. Henry “Chip” Hester retired, White got his wish to return to his family and teaching in Jacksonville.
“It was a goal eventually one day I would either get to come back here with this job or eventually retire,” said White. “I could have chosen a lot of assignments. I came back to Jacksonville because this is the number one program around.”
As the new ROTC commander and professor of military science, White will get to impart the wisdom he received through the military actions he has been part of at home and abroad, through his time spent as opposing force commander at a training site in Fort Polk, La., and his time spent as an ROTC cadet at JSU to the next batch of soldiers preparing to serve.
He has a well-rounded résumé to back him – from his time spent with airborne units to special operations and tanks.
White is thrilled with the commitment JSU has made over the years to their ROTC program and he hopes to leave his own lasting mark upon it through what he hopes will be many years of service.
“This is my opportunity to give back to the military and give back to JSU a lot of what I got. I’m where I am today not because of what I’ve done, but because of the conditions and people that trained me. No one gets to achieve any great position by themselves,” he said.
