Bill Gillespie of Chatham County served 23 years in the U.S. Army, retiring last year as a Lt. Colonel and a disabled veteran. In 2003, he served in Iraq as Senior Logistician for the Third Infantry Division, earning a Bronze Star.

Other positions held in the military include Inspector General, West Point professor, Chief of Staff for the Third Infantry Division Rear Command Post, Operations Director of the Army Ordnance Center and Chief of Leadership and Tactics of the Army Ordnance Center. Gillespie has traveled to six continents and been stationed overseas in Kuwait, Korea and Germany. His military awards include the Legion of Merit, Combat Action Badge, Douglas MacArthur Leadership Writing Award, Master Instructor Award, and three National Championships as coach of the West Point Orienteering Team. 

Most recently, Gillespie worked as southeast Georgia’s Army ROTC Program Director, charged with supervising ROTC programs at Georgia Southern University, Savannah State University, Armstrong Atlantic State University, Savannah College of Art & Design and St. Leo University. He also ran all of southeast Georgia’s Army Junior ROTC Programs. 

Gillespie has earned B.S. and M.A. degrees in Environmental Science from Towson University, an M.M.A.S. in Military History from the Combat Studies Institute at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and also worked toward a PH.D in Immigration Studies and Cultural Geography at the University of Maryland finishing all but his dissertation. Gillespie has taught classes on Geography, Military History and Leadership at West Point, Georgia Southern, Armstrong Atlantic State and Maryland. He is also a published author on subjects such as Education, Geography and History. 

He currently teaches a course to veterans at Fort Stewart in Hinesville designed to help them learn the skills necessary to transition into civilian life and gain employment.