By Mark Payne
Staff writer
Second Lt. Paul Tillman is towering over a fellow lieutenant and directing how to make a knot.
“Make a loop and pull the rope through it,” says Tillman in a calm, even-toned voice.
His voice is firm, but not harsh.
The newly commissioned officer is preparing for his role in teaching the stream-crossing course.
Being a leader is something that flows through Tillman's veins.
“I come from a military family. My father was a career Army guy, he was an officer, and my brother was in the Marine Corps,” Tillman said.
Tillman describes himself as a natural leader, “I had a natural tendency toward leadership stuff. I didn’t mind public speaking, and stuff like that in school.”
Lt. Col. Thomas Leitch, of St. Bonaventure University in New York and officer in charge at stream crossing, said his first impression of Tillman was professional and that he was a quality officer.
“When we started training to make sure everybody knew the specific jobs they had on the committee, he stepped up and said, ‘Yes, I know those knots, I can start teaching those knots to the group.’ ”
Sgt. Michael Jackson of Florida State University agrees.
“Second Lt. Tillman shows a lot of leadership, a lot of dedication. Not saying that the other lieutenants don’t, but he is just one of those guys that just wants to get stuff done and wants to do it proficiently and expediently with good results in the end.”
Although Tillman didn’t start college or join the military right after high school, he always knew an Army career was what he wanted to do.
“I grew up around the military and basically, from a young age, I knew I wanted to be in the military,” he said.
So, when Tillman headed off from his hometown of McDonough, Ga., to Liberty University in Virginia, ROTC was an obvious choice.
“It allowed me to go to school and be in the military,” he said.
ROTC helped Tillman get through college.
“First of all, being in ROTC instilled some discipline in me,” he said.
Tillman says he would usually wake up at around 5 a.m., to participate in ROTC activities, while his roommates, who were not involved with ROTC, would wake up around noon.
According to Tillman, ROTC also provides other opportunities.
“Being able to work with people you don't know was a big, beneficial thing for me,” he said. “That was, I think, the biggest thing I took away from ROTC.”
The Leader’s Training Course is Tillman's first assignment since his graduation May 9. Serving as a Soldier, he says, is different from college life.
“College life had a very lax schedule, even though I was in ROTC,” he said. He describes his first two weeks in Fort Knox as very structured.
“Basically, I work, workout and sleep,” he said.
Even though he is a little nervous about his first assignment, he is confident about his abilities to lead other people, and he feels he was trained to do so.
Tillman has some advice to incoming Cadets.
“Just don't be afraid to speak up and step out. That's the biggest thing that separates a lot of people that I've noticed in my time in ROTC,” he said, “I would encourage them not to be afraid.”