General Russel L. Honoré set to be speaker for Army ROTC Commissioning Ceremony

Retired U.S. Army General and Southern University alum Russel L. Honoré will be the guest speaker at the Army ROTC Commissioning ceremony at 10 a.m., Thursday, May 16 in the A.W. Mumford Fieldhouse.

The ROTC program will commission eight students during the special event marking the students graduation into the U.S. Army.

General Honoré, who became a national hero for his leadership in bringing order to New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, was commissioned as Second Lieutenant and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Vocational Agriculture from Southern in 1971. He holds a Master of Arts in Human Resources from Troy State University.

Honoré, a native of Lakeland in Pointe Coupee Parish, is the youngest of 12 children.

He has an Honorary Doctorate in Law from Stillman College and Honorary Doctorates in Humane Letters from Virginia State University, Stillman College, Loyola University and Meharry Medical College.

Honoré planned and oversaw the military response to the Space Shuttle Columbia Tragedy and the DC Sniper Shootings.  

Among his assignments are Commanding General, 2d Infantry Division, Korea; Deputy Commanding General/Assistant Commandant, United States Army Infantry Center and School, Fort Benning, Ga.; and the Assistant Division Commander, Maneuver/Support, 1st Calvary Division, Fort Hood, Texas. 

He has also served as the Brigade Commander, 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.; Senior Mechanized Observer/Controller, “Scorpion 07,” National Training Center (25 rotations); and Commander, 4th Battalion, 16th Infantry Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, Germany. 

For more information or questions regarding the Army ROTC program, call 225-771-4160.