William “Bill” LaChance grew up in Coventry, Rhode Island, and graduated from Coventry High School in 1984. Deeply involved in CHS’s Air Force JROTC program, Bill credits it as the foundation for his lifelong success—and where he met his wife of over 38 years, Candace (Rezendes), CHS ’85, after asking her to a JROTC military ball. They have two daughters and a grandson.

After high school, Bill enlisted in the Rhode Island National Guard’s 169th Military Police Company. He attended the University of Rhode Island on an Army ROTC scholarship, graduating in 1988 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and receiving an active-duty commission in the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps. He later completed rotary-wing flight school to become a UH-60 Blackhawk medical evacuation pilot.

Over his 26-year military career, Bill served in numerous key staff and command roles, including:
Flight Operations Officer, 36th Medical Detachment (Air Ambulance), Fort Polk, LA; Company Commander, B Company, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany; Executive Assistant to the Army Surgeon General / Commanding General, U.S. Army Medical Command, Pentagon; Executive Officer, 10th Combat Support Hospital, Fort Carson, CO; Commander, 571st Medical Company (Air Ambulance), Fort Carson, CO, and Operation Iraqi Freedom; Commander, 264th Medical Battalion, Fort Sam Houston, TX; Commander, 32d Medical Brigade, Fort Sam Houston, TX

His military awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit (2 OLC), Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (7 OLC), Air Medal with Valor, Combat Medical Badge, Expert Field Medical Badge, Senior Army Aviator Badge, Parachutist Badge, Air Assault Badge, and Army Staff Identification Badge.

Bill holds Master of Arts in Business from the University of Phoenix and a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College.

Inspired by his experiences at CHS, Bill transitioned to education after retiring from the Army in 2013. He served for eight years as the Senior Army JROTC Instructor at Robert G. Cole High School in San Antonio, Texas, before being named Director of Army Instruction for the Northeast Independent School District, San Antonio, Texas, where he oversees seven JROTC programs.