Van Hilleary.

A detailed Summary of Van Hilleary.

If Van Hilleary had made it through pilot training, he might not be running for governor. Piloting aircraft is what the 4th District congressman really wanted to do after graduating from the University of Tennessee and being commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. But he didn't "juggle" multi-tasks as quickly as he needed to, he said. So when he didn't succeed as a pilot, he stayed in the Air Force reserves and completed navigational training. And therein may be the foundation of the front-runner in the Republican primary for the state's chief executive officer. He doesn't make snap decisions, explained Jennifer Coxe, his press secretary. Some might see that as a weakness. Coxe sees it as Hilleary's strongest attribute. "He takes input from everybody and weighs it. Then he makes a decision," she said.

On the campaign trail, Hilleary, 43, tends to stick to issues that a new governor will face in education, TennCare, economic development and the budget. He's established task forces to advise him. But get a few moments with him and wife Meredith over appetizers and iced tea at the Tennessee Grill or a stroll around Ayres Hall on the University of Tennessee campus - two of their favorite spots - and insight into his

life becomes clearer. The couple met in Washington, D.C., where she was a congressional aide. She has since obtained a master's degree in education at UT. After getting a bachelor's degree at UT, Hilleary worked briefly in the family textile business at Spring City in Rhea County, returned to UT for graduate school, then decided to go to law school at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala. "I was searching for a new direction," he said. He ended up volunteering for assignments in Desert Shield and Desert Storm in the 1990s. He served as navigator on one rescue mission that resulted in a national award for the plane's crew, but Hilleary didn't mention that during an interview.

George Kershaw of Knoxville, a Hilleary supporter who was the reserve unit's public-affairs officer, told the story later. He said the rescue mission occurred during mopping up operations. "A group of Marines had gotten pinned down. Some were killed, others injured. One Marine was about to die if not rescued. Van's airplane was to get the Marines and take them out for treatment," Kershaw said. "The smoke was so dense they couldn't see the ground to land. Van encouraged them to try to land because he felt he could navigate the instruments so the pilots could get on the ground. So he guided them through with his navigational skills and got the Marines out of there. It was quite a heroic thing." The Reserve Officers Association honored Hilleary and his cohorts as the Air Force Reserve Crew of the Year in 1991 for that action.

Hilleary's highest priority would be to reform K-12 education. He's a supporter of charter schools, a program the Legislature approved this year. He

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Category: Politics