OXFORD, Miss. April 8, 2011 - The Commanding General of the Army Reserve's 99th Regional Support Command was inducted into the University of Mississippi's Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps Hall of Fame April 8.
Maj. Gen. William D. Razz Waff became the 58th member of the "Rebel Battalion" Hall of Fame during a ceremony held at the Oxford Convention Center.
The Ole Miss Army ROTC Hall of Fame was established by the Ole Miss Army ROTC Alumni Board in 1992. Each year, graduates of the program who have made extraordinary accomplishments in their military and/or civilian careers are chosen for admission into the Hall of Fame.
This year, retired Lt. Col. Bryan Hawkins (class of 1974), Marine Col. David McElreath (class of 1975) and Waff (class of 1976) were for chosen for admission into the Ole Miss ROTC Hall of Fame.
Waff is one of only 17 Ole Miss ROTC graduates to have achieved the rank of general officer since the program's inception on March 11, 1936. Since that time, approximately 1,500 cadets have received commissions through the Ole Miss Army ROTC program and have fought in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, Desert Storm, Afghanistan and Iraq.
Waff assumed the duties of Commanding General of the 99th RSC, which is headquartered at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., on Oct. 1, 2010. Prior to his current duty assignment, Waff was the Deputy Commanding General of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, with offices at Fort Knox, KY, Alexandria, Va., and St. Louis, MO.
As the Commanding General of the 99th RSC, Waff is responsible for administrative, logistics and facilities support to more than 51,000 Army Reserve Soldiers in 439 units at 328 USAR centers and 33 maintenance facilities in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont and Rhode Island.
Waff began his military career by attending the Virginia Military Institute and later the University of Mississippi, graduating in 1976 with a Bachelor of Music Degree magna cum laude. He was commissioned through the Ole Miss ROTC program as a Distinguished Military Graduate in the Regular Army as a Second Lieutenant in the Adjutant General's Corps.
While on active duty for four years at Fort Jackson, S.C., he was an Advanced Individual Training Company Executive Officer and Battalion Adjutant, 11th Battalion, 4th Advanced Individual Training Brigade. He also served as the Fort Jackson Headquarters Company Executive Officer and later as Commander; and as the Executive Officer/ Adjutant of the Military Enlistment Processing Station located at Fort Jackson.
As an Army Reserve Soldier, Waff has served as Training Officer of the 477th Personnel Service Company, Forest Park, Ill., and as Executive Officer of the 479th Personnel Service Company at Fort Sheridan, Ill. He has also served as the Administrative/Logistics Officer in the Composite Branch, 85th Division Maneuver Training Command (MTC) and as Chief, Personnel Services, of the MTC. He then served as the Chief, Strength Management Office, of the 85th Maneuver Exercise Command (MEC) from 1989-1992.
In 1992, he became the Assistant G1 (Recruiting) for the 1st Brigade, 85th Division at Fort Sheridan, before being named G1 (Personnel) in 1994. MG Waff was selected for Battalion Command in 1997 as Commander of the 1485th Logistics Support Battalion, located in Arlington Heights, Ill.
In 1999 he was appointed as the Director of the Simulations Branch, Battle Projection Group, 1st Brigade, 85th Division, Arlington Heights, Ill., a position he held until his selection for command of the Second Simulation Exercise Group, 1st Brigade (BCST), 85th Division (Training Support), Fort Sheridan, Ill., in May 2000.
After a successful command tour, he was then selected in June 2002 to serve as the Chief of Staff of the 88th Regional Readiness Command, Fort Snelling, Minn, where he served until February 2005, when he was selected for promotion to Brigadier General to serve as the Deputy Commanding General of the 99th Regional Readiness Command, Coraopolis, Pa. He received promotion to Major General Feb. 26, 2011.
Waff completed the Adjutant General's Corps Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, the Army Medical Officer Advanced Course and the Senior Officer Transportation Advanced Course. He also completed the Command and General Staff College (Resident-RC), the Army War College's Reserve Component National Security Issues Seminar, the Army War College's Defense Strategy Course and the Army War College's Senior Service College Course (Distance Education), being awarded the Master of Strategic Studies degree in 2001. He is also a graduate of the Department of Defense Modeling and Simulations Officer Course.
His decorations include the Legion of Merit with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Meritorious Service Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, the Army Achievement Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal with the Gold Hourglass Device, the National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Service Star, the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, the Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal with seven Oak Leaf Clusters and the Army Service Ribbon.
In civilian life, Waff is the Director of Pastoral Care, Ethics and Interpreter Services for Vista Health in Waukegan, Ill. He has also received a Master of Divinity degree from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, Ill., in 1983, and a doctorate in medical ethics through a joint venture of the Graduate Theological Foundation and Georgetown University in 1997.
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