A retiring Army commander will become Georgia Military College’s 21st president this summer.

Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell will have 37 years of military service when he retires later this year.

He will succeed retired Army Maj. Gen. Peter J. Boylan, who will end his tenure as GMC’s longest-serving president with 21 years leading the college.

“I’m honored to have been selected for this prestigious position, and to carry on a proud 134-year tradition of excellence here at Georgia Military College,” Caldwell said in a news release.

Caldwell is currently serving as commanding general of the Fifth Army at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.

He also has served as commanding general of the NATO Training Mission and Combined Security Transition Command for Afghanistan, and was commanding general of the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth in Kansas.

Caldwell also was deputy chief of staff for strategic effects and spokesman for the multinational force in Iraq and served as commanding general of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C.

“After nearly 37 years of leading America’s incredible men and women in uniform, I understand how important it is to produce leaders with a strong, 21st-century education,” Caldwell said in the release.

Caldwell has received the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, two Distinguished Service Medals, three Defense Superior Service Medals, two Legion of Merit awards and three Bronze Stars.

He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1976. He earned a master’s degree from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and from the School for Advanced Military Studies at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. Caldwell also attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University as a Senior Service College Fellow and served as a White House Fellow, one of America’s most prestigious programs for leadership and public service.

Caldwell and his wife, Stephanie, who is a Methodist minister, have five children.

The GMC board of trustees launched a six-month national search for a new president with a committee formed from representatives of the two-year college and preparatory school, GMC Foundation and Milledgeville-Baldwin County community.

“The level of nationwide interest in this opportunity and the quality of the applicants is a testimony to the reputation of the college and the transformational leadership of Gen. Boylan,” said search committee Chairman Randall A. New in the release.

To contact writer Liz Fabian, call 744-4303.