Army ROTC names alumnus of the year

An associate justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court is the 1999 Army ROTC alumnus of the year at Mississippi State.

Judge William L. Waller Jr. of Jackson, also a colonel in the Mississippi Army National Guard, accepted the honor in ceremonies during the Oct. 23 Homecoming weekend. Waller received his Army commission in 1974 upon graduation from MSU with a degree in general business administration.

He is the 10th person to receive the annual honor from the university's oldest reserve officer training corps program.

The son of former Gov. Bill Waller, he went on to graduate in 1977 from the University of Mississippi School of Law. He was in general law practice until 1998, when he joined the eight other members of Mississippi's highest judicial body.

Waller has served at all command levels in the state's Army National Guard, including commander of the 2/198 Armor Battalion. A graduate of the U.S. Army War and the Command and General Staff colleges, he currently serves as assistant chief of staff at state area command headquarters.

Waller is a member of the board of the Mississippi National Guard Association and a member of the American Legion.