Elections, new appointments to S.C. Floodwater Commission
January 25, 2019
Connor named chair of the Commission’s National Security Task Force
By W. Thomas Smith Jr.
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Col. Bill Connor was unanimously elected chairman of the National Security Task Force of the South Carolina Floodwater Commission, Thurs., Jan. 24.
An Orangeburg-based attorney and U.S. Army Reserve Infantry officer (Airborne Ranger), Connor is a decorated combat veteran and former senior U.S. military advisor in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. He currently serves as the Emergency Preparedness Liaison Officer (EPLO) for S.C. As EPLO, Connor is the ranking military representative of UNITED STATES ARMY NORTH for the Palmetto State.
Among Thursday’s new appointments was Col. Steve Vitali of Columbia, who was named to the National Security Task Force, Wed., and elected operations officer, Thurs., upon Connor’s recommendation and nomination.
Vitali, a retired U.S. Marine officer, is a veteran of both the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a former senior advisor to the 201st Afghan National Army Corps and commanding officer of the 201st Afghan Regional Corps Advisory Group.
As operations officer for the National Security Task Force, Vitali is responsible for reaching out to the commanders of the various commanders and emergency management representatives at federal military installations (particularly the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island and the Marine Corps Air Station, Beaufort) located along or near South Carolina’s 187-miles of coastline.
The National Security Task Force is one of 10 named task forces (aka subcommittees) which comprise the S.C. Floodwater Commission.
This week, the Floodwater Commission’s task forces began a series of meetings and teleconferences, aimed at electing task force chairs and secretaries, organizing the overall subcommittees, initiating plans, and setting goals in the run-up to a meeting of the full Commission in Charleston, Feb. 8.
Established in Executive Order 2018-50 by S.C. Governor Henry McMaster on Oct. 2018, the S.C. Floodwater Commission is chaired by Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Tom Mullikin, a Camden-based attorney, university professor, and global expedition leader.
McMaster directed that the S.C. Floodwater Commission be organized with Mullikin as its chair as a means of determining the best paths forward, and to develop and put into action plans aimed at alleviating and mitigating flood impacts to South Carolina. The Palmetto State has experienced disastrous and unprecedented flooding from hurricanes and other tropical storms since 2015.
In his State of the State address, Wed. evening, McMaster said, “[The S.C. Floodwater Commission] is unique in the United States. The Commission’s purpose is to provide guidance, solutions and opportunities presented by inland and coastal flooding and all that entails.”
McMaster added, “Its scope will be global, to be applied here.”
For more information about the S.C. Flood Commission, visit https://governor.sc.gov/executive-branch/south-carolina-floodwater-commission.
