Colonel King reigns supreme

Between his love of the army and his compassion for nature and the environment, there is more to Lieutenant Colonel King than meets the eye.

Growing up and watching many western films about Cowboys and Indians, King developed an interest in all things military. Out of high school, he attended the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) to pursue a career that would fit his ideals. Despite being born into a military family, King says that it was not responsible for his decision. “It’s not a family thing. It’s our duty. When our country calls for help, we step up.”

After graduating from VMI, King spent 22 and a half years in the army. During that time span, he worked his way from 2nd Lieutenant to Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) O-5, his final rank before retirement. Looking back, King’s favorite parts of the army were “the ability to work with young people, jumping out of airplanes, and leading others.”

He also jokes about how it took instructors three weeks to teach him how to jump out of an airplane. “I eventually learned, but I had to just throw myself out of the plane door,” he says.

As of present, he carries on the tradition of making belt buckles for the cadet’s at VMI’s uniforms. His father made the buckles until he passed away in 1985, and King has continued making them in his basement since.

King is now a JROTC instructor. He strives to teach his students the values of leadership and the citizenship, saying, “Our job isn’t to prepare students [for entering the military], but to help them understand the importance of being a citizen of America.” King also says that as a teacher, if he can’t teach them anything they can use in the future, he doesn’t need to be teaching in the first place. Teaching a JROTC class is different for King in that he has to remind himself daily that he is a teacher first and foremost. He enjoys being able to carry and share his love of history to the younger generations.

For the past four years, King has been the head of the school’s recycling efforts. From 2014-2015, he was able to aid in the recycling of 48,000 pounds of paper. Of the amount of paper recycled, whatever amounts of recycled newspaper collected was given to the SPCA. King hopes that the school will soon be able to expand to recycling plastic, rather than just paper.

The thing that fuels his compassion for the environment is his disgust in the waste. “It bothers me to see all the waste everywhere,” he says. His main concern, however, is about the welfare of all the animals who are losing their homes. In his words, “We lose hundreds to thousands of acres of woodland a day. Where are the animals supposed to go when their homes are destroyed?”

King encourages others to be grateful and observant. He says, “There are things, opportunities, sitting right in front of you; you just have to recognize them before it’s too late.”