Appalachian State’s ROTC program is now under new leadership.

Earlier this week, Lieutenant Colonel Haimes Andy Kilgore was named a professor of military science.

Kilgore fell in love with Appalachian after his friend, Lieutenant Colonel Bo Clayton, an ASU alumnus, told him about ASU and their ROTC program.

Kilgore said he checked the university out online, came for a visit, and then made it his number one choice to come teach.

Director of University News, Jane Nicholson, said Kilgore began serving the military when he was 17 years-old by joining the Mississippi Army National Guard.

Nicholson said Kilgore was a part of the ROTC program at Mississippi State University was a member of the Army and served in Germany.

Kilgore has served in almost every continent in the world.  His service took him to Asia, where he served in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iraq during Desert Storm and Desert Shield.  Kilgore also returned to Kuwait and Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom II.

About 130 cadets are enrolled in ROTC at Appalachian.

(Photo Courtesy of Appalachian State University)