Bill Connor (SC)

Bill Connor was the Senior US Army Advisor in Helmand Province, Afghanistan and Recipient of a Bronze Star. He is currently a candidate for South Carolina Lieutenant Governor.

Family history

Bill’s great-great grandfather, William Mellard Connor, served at age 16 in the famed Confederate Charleston Artillery Battery. In 1862 they defeated the Union surprise attack at Fort Lamar in Secessionville, warded off the 54th Massachusetts Volunteers at Battery Wagner on Morris Island and defeated the Union navy’s botched boat attack on Fort Sumter in 1863. In 1864 fought with General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia until the end of the war.

After the war Connor became a local businessman and raised a family. His son and namesake followed in his father’s footsteps and left a successful law practice to volunteer in the Philippine Insurrection. He became General “Blackjack” Pershing’s Judge Advocate and continued in the military until his retirement in 1947. He was head of the West Point Law Department for two of the four years that his son, William Mellard Connor, III, attended the military academy. Connor III fought in World War II from Normandy to Germany in the 25th Infantry Division. He also served in Korea and received a silver star for leading a battalion back safely after the Chinese crossed the Yalu River. He was a Rhodes Scholar and retired to Charleston, where he taught German at the College of Charleston. He lived but a few doors from another South Carolina war hero, General William Westmoreland, commander of the U.S. forces in Vietnam and later Army Chief of Staff.

Bill’s father was also appointed to the United States Military Academy. He served in Vietnam and was awarded a Silver Star for “gallantry under fire.” Connor IV went on to teach at West Point.

Early years

Connor was born at Tripler Army Hospital at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. He grew up as a "military brat", though his grandparents' home in Charleston was always the family anchor point. When his father was stationed in Belgium, he was captain of the local high school football and wrestling teams.

The Citadel

Bill attended The Citadel from 1986 to 1990, graduating with a Bachelors of Arts in History. Bill was also Captain of the Boxing Team and the Executive Officer of Second Battalion. He was on the Dean's List, and was selected for "Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities." He met his wife Susan in Charleston, and they were married in 1991. The couple currently has three children.

US Army (1990-2002)

Bill was commissioned an infantry officer in the United States Army Rangers after his graduation from the Citadel. After graduating from Ranger School, his first job in the Army was as a Platoon Leader, B Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry at Fort Stewart, Georgia. He consecutively commanded two separate platoons – one of 20 soldiers and $2 million of equipment, and one of 35 soldiers and $4 million of equipment. Bill was responsible for the training, health, safety, and combat readiness of the soldiers assigned.

Bill went on in 1994 to be the Executive Officer of D Company. There, Bill consecutively served as second-in-command for two separate companies – D Company consisting of 120 soldiers and $10 million of equipment, and HHC consisting of 350 soldiers and $50 million of equipment. Bill deployed twice to Kuwait during this period, including during Operation Vigilant Warrior, where he served under Brigadier General Mick Zais.

In 1995, Bill became an Infantry Battalion Logistics Officer with the 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry in Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. There he planned, coordinated, supervised and evaluated all supply, transportation and logistics requirements for an infantry battalion with 600 assigned personnel. During that time, Bill deployed for six months to the Sinai Peninsula for a peacekeeping mission between Egypt and Israel. This was a critical time in Bill's life, as he studied many of the world's major religions while deployed.

In 1997, Bill became the Company Commander for C Company in 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry. Commanding an Infantry Rifle Company, which included 5 officers and more than 120 enlisted soldiers, he developed and implemented all training necessary to prepare for combat, including the training of junior officers. Bill was selected as the Pacific Theater nominee for the MacArthur Leadership Award for his performance in a command.

Since Bill was a Ranger, his next job would be particularly rewarding - commanding a Ranger training company. The company was composed of 35 officers and senior enlisted personnel instructors and classes of over 100 Ranger students. Bill's command responsibilities included: Chief training officer, legal authority over all personnel, and accountability for all equipment.

Bill then became the Aide-de-camp to the Commanding General at Fort Benning (also Chief of Infantry), General John LeMoyne. General LeMoyne was responsible for a post of over 30,000 soldiers and civilians. He controlled the direction of the U.S. Army Infantry (affecting over 80,000 soldiers).

In 2000, Bill was selected for a highly competitive assignment to instruct new Captains in the skills required for command and staff assignments. His instruction consisted of teaching a five-month, post-graduate program of instruction to 15-20 officers at a time.

USC School of Law/private practice

In 2002, Bill left the Active Duty component of the military for the reserve component, and attended the University of South Carolina School of Law. During that first year, having commanded hundreds of men and millions of dollars of equipment to becoming a first year law student, Bill became a born-again Christian. Shortly thereafter, Bill joined the Christian Legal Society, and he remains a member of that organization.

After Bill graduated and passed the bar, he joined Murphy and Grantland Law Firm in Columbia, SC, and practiced business insurance defense law. While Bill was in Law School and during his first year as a business defense attorney, he also served in the SC National Guard as the Joint Liaison Officer for the 263rd Army Air and Missile Defense Command. Bill served as Liaison Officer for this two-star command assigned to work with Navy, Air Force, and foreign forces at the Theater Level. In addition to other stateside assignments, deployed to Korea for Ulchi Focus Lens and to Crete to serve as the Executive Officer for the Commanding General during a major NATO operation.

Afghan deployment (2007-2008)

In 2007, the South Carolina 218th was mobilized for combat in Afghanistan. Bill voluntarily transferred into the 218th to join them on the Afghan mission. He was first mobilized to Fort Riley, Kansas for training. Bill was the Team Leader of an elite team of Captain and First Sergeant advisors. Bill was deployed to a small base near Kandahar, Afghanistan, where he served as the Regional Joint Operations Officer for the newly forming Southern Region advisory mission (Afghan National Police). In this position, he developed and executed the plans for putting advisory teams throughout the most violent region of Afghanistan during the Taliban summer offensive.

Due to his success in that position, Bill was promoted to Senior US Advisor in Helmand Province. He was also promoted from Major to Lieutenant Colonel. In that position, Bill also acted as the Senior US officer to United Kingdom Forces in Helmand, was Senior Advisor to the provincial Chief of Police, and commanded US advisory effort in Helmand. During this time, Bill was involved in over 20 firefights. For actions during those firefights, he received the Combat Infantryman's Badge and Bronze Star.

During his time in Afghanistan, Bill wrote numerous articles back home to his hometown newspaper, The Times and Democrat of Orangeburg, SC. After he returned to South Carolina, the articles were collated into a book called Articles from War. He has been accepted into Cambridge's "Who's Who."

Candidacy for Lieutenant Governor

In March 2009, Bill announced his candidacy for Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina. His campaign was endorsed by fifteen county GOP Chairs, seven GOP Executive Committeemen, two SC State Senators, and a host of veterans, including South Carolina Adjutant General Stanhope Spears. . The campaign is ongoing as of February 2010; the primary election is scheduled for June, 8, 2010. Bill is running as a Republican.