The President’s Military Biography

Military Biography

Meet the President | Message from the President 

Lieutenant General William B. Caldwell, IV is the 21st President of Georgia Military College which he assumed upon retirement from the United States Army on November 1, 2013.

His last three assignments as a Lieutenant General were all command positions.  They included Commander of United States Army North (Fifth Army) from December 2011 to September 2013; Commander, North Atlantic Treaty Organization Training Mission-Afghanistan and Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan during OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM from November 2009 to November 2011 and Commanding General of the US Army Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth.

Other general officer assignments were as Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Effects and spokesperson for the Multi-National Force – Iraq during OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM; Commanding General of the 82nd Airborne Division, that included commanding the federal response in New Orleans during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita; Senior Military Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense; Deputy Director for Operations for the United States Pacific Command; and Assistant Division Commander, 25th Infantry Division.  He also served as Executive Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; a White House Fellow, the White House; Politico-Military Officer in Haiti during OPERATION RESTORE/UPHOLD DEMOCRACY; Brigade Operations Officer, 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division during OPERATIONS DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM; and Chief of Plans for the 82nd Airborne Division during OPERATION JUST CAUSE in Panama.

Lieutenant General Caldwell’s decorations include the Department of Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Army Distinguished Service Medal (with Oak Leaf Cluster), the Defense Superior Service Medal (with two Oak Leaf Clusters), the Legion of Merit (with Oak Leaf Cluster), the Bronze Star Medal (with two Oak Leaf Clusters), Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, Presidential Service Identification Badge, Office of the Secretary of Defense Identification Badge, Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge, the Combat Infantryman Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, and Ranger Tab. Other awards include: the US Department of State Meritorious Honor Award Medal, the NATO Meritorious Service Medal (with Bronze Star), Ghazi Mir Bacha Khan Medal-Afghanistan, European Union Police Mission-Afghanistan Medal, and the Polish Armed Forces Gold Medal. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Lieutenant General Caldwell was commissioned as an Infantry Officer from the United States Military Academy at West Point in June 1976 with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering. He also earned Master’s Degrees from the United States Naval Postgraduate School and from the School for Advanced Military Studies at the United States Army Command and General Staff College. He also attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, as a Senior Service College Fellow.

He and his wife, Stephanie, are both originally from Columbus, GA. They have three children.