USM Speaks About Earning "Gold Status" as a Military Friendly School

HATTIESBURG, MISS. - USM Golden Eagles earned a gold status as a military friendly school. The University of Southern Mississippi emerged as a top ten school over more than 8,000 other universities nationwide to earn the gold status as a military friendly school. This is the first time the University has received such a distinction.

“It’s not the first time we’ve been designated as a military friendly school, but this is the first time we’ve been recognized as a gold status institution,” Southern Miss. Senior VA Certifying Official, Michael McGee said.

This status comes as a honor to the school’s commitment, effort, and success in creating benefits for their military personnel. Southern Miss is known for its good relationship with veterans and their families attending the University. “We’ve been able to provide what I consider high-quality service to our deserving veteran service members, and their family members who attend school here,” McGee said. However, the Veteran and Military Affairs staff at USM gives a lot of credit to the man in charge, General Hammond. General Hammond one led troops in the war on Iraq, and he was present in the Pentagon on the 9/11 terrorist attacks. “We come to work today at the University of Southern Mississippi with the fire in our belly,” General Hammond said. “We love providing service to our veterans, but it is a broader group. It’s all of our service members and their families now. So it’s all about service and we love doing it today, so that’s never really changed. It’s all about the service.” Hammond also released a statement saying that he and his staff will continue to collaborate with the university community in both Hattiesburg and on the Gulf Coast to meet all veteran needs.