Maj. Gen. Jeff Hammond speaks to the media after his leadership message.
Major General Jeff Hammond, U.S. Army, retired, was guest speaker Feb. 6 during William Carey University’s weekly chapel service.
This special service was part of the Christian Leadership Lectures program featuring people from various professions who have demonstrated outstanding leadership. Speakers describe the role of the Judeo-Christian principles that have guided their personal and professional achievements.
Hammond attended the University of Southern Mississippi, where he earned bachelor's and master's degrees in special education. He was a quarterback from 1976-78 and team captain for the Golden Eagle football team.
Upon graduation in 1978, Hammond was commissioned as a second lieutenant. Over the years, he was highly decorated and rose to the rank of major general. Hammond served three combat tours and is best known for his leadership during the highly successful “Surge” – commanding a division of 28,000 soldiers and their families at war for 15 months, resulting in long-term sustainable security across Baghdad, Iraq.
On Sept. 11, 2001, Hammond was a colonel stationed at the Pentagon. He had just stepped out of his office when terrorists flew a plane into the building. Hammond struggled with the fact that he survived while the other workers in his office did not.
“I asked myself, ‘why am I still alive?’ Turned out God does extraordinary things with ordinary people, and he had other plans for me,” Hammond told the crowd gathered at Thomas Fine Arts Auditorium.
“I couldn’t be just a leader. I had to be a Christian leader. When I served in Iraq, we weren’t there to kill the bad guys. We were there to protect God’s creation, to protect the people of Baghdad.
“Jesus said, ‘follow me and I will make you fishers of men.’ When you lead people, and affect lives, it’s important to have the moral courage to do the right thing.”
Hammond is currently director of Veteran & Military Affairs at the University of Southern Mississippi.
