Sept. 6 Set for Change of Command Ceremony
By Randy Wilson
News Bureau

Jacksonville State University's Lt. Col. Herschel N. May Jr., professor of military science, will hand over command of JSU's ROTC Battalion to Lt. Col. Henry M. Hester during a ceremony at 2:30 p.m. at Rowe Hall on Tuesday, September 6.

May assumed command of the program on August 1, 2001. May will retire from active duty in the U.S. Army at the end of 2005.

"I have enjoyed my four years as commander of the Gamecock Battalion," said May. "I have learned as much from the cadets as they have learned from me."

May is a 1984 distinguished military graduate of the University of North Alabama, where he completed a bachelor's degree in political science. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant assigned to the Military Intelligence Corps. He holds a master's degree in strategic analysis from the Joint Military Intelligence College and the Defense Intelligence Agency, Washington, D.C.

May's military education includes the military intelligence officer basic and advanced course, basic parachutist and jumpmaster school, the post graduate intelligence program, and the Command and General Staff College.

His awards and decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal (third oak leaf cluster), the Army Commendation Medal (first oak leaf cluster), the National Defense Service Medal, the Overseas Service Ribbon, and the Parachutist Badge. He is the recipient of the Thomas B. Knowlton Award for excellence in service to the Military Intelligence Corps.

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