Colonel William Jerry Tait, Jr., Retired, 56, passed away suddenly on Saturday, September 14, 2013, at his home in Harker Heights, Texas. The visitation will be held at Crawford-Bowers Funeral Home on Wednesday, September 18, 2013, from 6:00pm - 8:00pm. The funeral will be held at the First United Methodist Church of Killeen on Thursday, September 19, 2013 at 10:00am. Graveside service to follow at the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, we ask that contributions be made to the National Ataxia Foundation, HARP (Homeless Awareness Recovery Program) of the Killeen Independent School District, or your favorite charity.
Jerry was born on September 10, 1957, in San Diego, California to LCDR USN William Jerry Tait, Sr., Retired, and Erline (Cunningham) Tait. He is a 1980 Distinguished Military Graduate of the University of Alabama, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in Military Intelligence through the Reserve Officer Training Corps.
The highlights of his career include one of his earliest assignments with the 7th MI Company, 7th Infantry Division, Fort Ord, California, where he was instrumental in creating the 107th MI Battalion, one of the Army’s first Combat Electronic Warfare Intelligence (CEWI) battalions. During his assignment with the 66th Military Intelligence Brigade in Munich, Germany, he commanded the 5th MI Company, leading the overt intelligence operations that predicted and then exploited the fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1993, Colonel Tait was assigned to Fort Hood, beginning a close association with III Corps and Fort Hood that lasted his remaining 17 years in uniform. He served as the Director of Intelligence (CJ2) of Multi-National Corps-Iraq during both Operation Iraqi Freedom II from 2004-2005 and Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2007-2009.
Upon retirement after 30 years of loyal military service, Jerry joined CGI, a global Information Technology Company. Jerry rose to the position of Vice President in the Army and Defense Intelligence Programs Business Unit. He ran programs that provided support to military and intelligence customers serving in the United States and in combat. Additionally, he served on the highly selective Army Science Board, providing counsel to the Army on their organization and mission.
Recently Colonel Tait was nominated for induction into the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame. Colonel Richard Allenbaugh, US Army, Retired, who nominated him, stated, “His achievements as an MI officer distinguished him as being among the very best intelligence professionals to ever serve in uniform.”
Colonel Tait’s other awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit with one Oak Leaf Cluster, Bronze Star Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, Meritorious Service Medal with six Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Commendation Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Achievement Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Parachutist Badge.
He is survived by his wife, Rebecca Ann (Gilliland) Tait of Harker Heights, TX; his daughters and their partners Mary Elizabeth Tait and Nathan Farrell of Waco, Texas, and Carol Ann Tait and SSG (P) Christopher Fraim of Lawton, Oklahoma; his sisters Beth Ezell of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and Catherine Endt of Vancleave, Mississippi; his parents LCDR USN William Jerry Tait, Sr., Retired, and Erline (Cunningham) Tait of Vancleave, Mississippi; and his mother-in-law Shirley Gilliland of Guntersville, Alabama.
He is preceded in death by his grandparents Mr. and Mrs. William F. Tait, Mr. and Mrs. Clyde C. Cunningham, and his father-in-law SFC Ralph E. Gilliland, Retired.
Please share condolences with the Tait family by visiting www.crawfordbowersfuneral.com
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