Incoming chair brings an extensive background in military and civilian-governmental leadership
By Steven B. Vitali
Dr. Tom Mullikin, a former U.S. Army officer (captain), retired two-star commanding general of the S.C. State Guard, and current director of the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, has been named board chair of the S.C. Military Veterans Hall of Fame; effective Oct. 28, 2026.
A global expedition leader, member-inductee of the S.C. Black Belt Hall of Fame (2019), and founding chair of the gubernatorially established S.C. Floodwater Commission in 2018; Mullikin was last month named an ex-officio member of the newly created S.C. Conservation Commission which – like the Floodwater Commission – was established by Gov. Henry McMaster.
Mullikin brings a wealth of military and civilian governmental experience to the S.C. Military Veterans Hall of Fame board of directors; as such he is also a Class of 2026 inductee in the Hall of Fame. He is an attorney, university professor, and a longtime public servant whose tireless work has earned him significant praise from peers including local, state, national, even international leaders at the chief-executive level.
In 2017, Maj. Gen. James E. Livingston, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.), recipient of the Medal of Honor and also a S.C. Military Veterans Hall of Fame inductee, said, “Tom Mullikin—and those like him who have climbed many of the world’s great summits—is a model of perseverance.”
Summits and perseverance indeed: As a mountaineering leader, Mullikin has climbed many of the world’s highest peaks (including four of the seven great summits), and he has led arduous expeditions – often at the head of former-and-retired U.S. military special operators – on every continent. He has also logged SCUBA-dives in all the world’s five oceans including certified ice dives in both the Arctic and Antarctic Oceans, and he is a certified SCUBA instructor.
Mullikin’s military service is equally unique and extensive.
As a U.S. Army officer, Mullikin served in the Army Reserve’s Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps, the Army’s Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command, and he is a graduate of the Army’s Master Fitness school where he subsequently served (trained) soldiers in physical fitness and self-defense combatives. A sixth-degree black belt in traditional karate, Mullikin has since been inducted into multiple martial arts halls of fame including the aforementioned S.C. Black Belt Hall of Fame, the United States Martial Arts Hall of Fame, and the London-based International Martial Arts Hall of Fame.
“Quite the martial experience,” says 10th-degree Black Belt Bruce Brutschy, also a karate hall-of-famer. “Tom Mullikin’s portfolio is exceptionally strong by any calculation.”
Mullikin’s national security leadership and experience is no exception. For example, from 2011 to 2013, Mullikin served as Special Assistant to the Chief Prosecutor of Military Commissions during proceedings involving terrorist mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four 9/11-terrorist co-defendants.
“Because of Mullikin’s extraordinary work, I can confidently affirm that his efforts are meaningfully contributing to the whole of our national security efforts,” said U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Mark Martins, then Chief Prosecutor of Military Commissions.
As commanding general (major general) of the historic, all-volunteer S.C. State Guard, Mullikin was described as that organization’s “sea-change agent.” He previously served in the S.C. Military Department’s (SCMD) Joint Services Detachment as both JAG officer and a member of SCMD’s Counterterrorism Advisory Team, the state’s first counterterrorism task force which brought together a host of experts for high-level briefings including former CIA operations officers, a former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense, and retired Director of Central Intelligence Porter Goss.
An old school adventurer, Mullikin has not only traveled to many of the world’s most-remote, isolated and austere destinations; he has spent time with units from several foreign military forces, earning military parachutist wings from several foreign airborne forces, including those of Germany, Serbia, Croatia, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and the exiled Kingdom of Laos.
Among Mullikin’s myriad awards, accolades, military decorations, and civilian honors is the Order of the Palmetto, S.C.’s highest honor awarded in 1998 by then-Gov. David Beasley.
In 2024, Gov. McMaster said: “Tom Mullikin is one of South Carolina’s uniquely talented citizens who serves as a great ambassador of our state.”
Mullikin’s recent induction into the S.C. Military Veterans Hall of Fame and appointment as board chair, speak to his state, national, and international service.
“South Carolina has an extraordinary military heritage,” Mullikin said. “Our state has produced generations of warriors, patriots, and servant leaders whose courage has helped preserve our freedom. This Hall of Fame must be more than a place of recognition. It must be a living legacy that connects the sacrifices of yesterday with the responsibilities of tomorrow.”
Mullikin assumes chairmanship responsibilities from outgoing chair, retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Will Grimsley, also a S.C. Military Veterans Hall of Fame inductee: Class of 2025.
– Col. Steven B. Vitali, USMC (Ret.), a career Marine officer who commanded U.S. and foreign forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, is a S.C. Military Veterans Hall of Fame inductee: Class of 2026. Like Mullikin, Vitali is also an inductee in the S.C. Black Belt Hall of Fame.
