rapidfire
M Retiree Spotlight
aj. Gen. William K. “Bill” Suter has been the clerk of the Supreme Court since he retired from the
Army in 1991. Before his final active duty assignment as the Army’s chief uniformed lawyer, his military career included service in Vietnam, for which he was awarded the Bronze Star, and as commandant of the Army JAG school in Charlottesville, Va. As the 19th Supreme Court clerk in U.S. his- tory, he is responsible for the court’s docket and calendar and for super- vising the Supreme Court Bar. Has the skill-set you learned as a military officer contributed to your second-career suc- cess? Without question. The military taught me the virtues of being responsible, respon- sive, and loyal to the institu- tion I serve ... the ability to train my subordinates and then delegate to them and to reward good performers. Those leadership attributes work as well in the Supreme Court as they did in the Army. Is it true you played varsity basketball when you were in college? It is. I actually got a
chance to guard [NBA Hall of Famer] Elgin Baylor once in an exhibition game ... I held him to just 53 points! I still occasionally play with some of the Supreme Court staff in our gym on the third floor, which we refer to as the “highest
[basketball] court in the land.” You’ve known all the justices for the past two decades; do any of them have military experience? A number of them served in the military, and Justice Sandra Day O’Connor began her legal career as a military spouse. Her first job after law school was as a civilian attorney in a military legal office in Germany when her husband was stationed there. What made you want to take the job as a Supreme Court clerk? I’ve long men- tored transitioning officers that one’s first career ought to be
about achieving success, and the second career should be about achieving significance. Serving the Supreme Court has allowed me to follow my own advice. — Brig. Gen. Jim Swanson, USAF-Ret.
Attention! Check out these military-related entertainment offerings.
BOOK When Janey Comes Marching Home (University of North Carolina Press, 2010) This collection of images and stories of female veterans from Iraq and Afghani- stan gets to the heart of issues such as loss, ca-
maraderie, and conflict as well as motherhood, mar- riage, and sexism.
MOVIE The Expend- ables (Millenium Films, 2010) Barney Ross (Sylves- ter Stallone) leads a tight- knit band of men who live
2 8 MI L I T A R Y O F F I C E R AU G U S T 2 0 1 0
on the fringe. They take on a pseudo-military mission to overthrow a murderous dictator and end up in a complicated situation.
BOOK Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Sa- lutes the Armed Forces
(Bathroom Readers’ Press, 2009) This light and condensed reader is packed with short tidbits of military history, heroics, and humility. Read about how the Pentagon got its shape, the story of Fort Knox, Ky., and more.
MO PHOTO: STEVE BARRETT
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