William Kent Suter (born August 24, 1937) is an American jurist who served as the 19th Clerk of the Supreme Court of the United States, a position he held for twenty-two years. Prior to this, he was a major general in the United States Army; at the time of his retirement in 1991, he had served for over a year as the acting Judge Advocate General. Early life and education Born in Portsmouth, Ohio, Suter was raised in Millersburg, Kentucky, where he attended the Millersburg Military Institute from grades 1 to 12. A talented basketball player, he received a scholarship to attend Trinity University in San Antonio, eventually obtaining a B.A. degree from there in 1959. Deciding to pursue a J.D. degree, Suter took advantage of an academic scholarship from the Tulane University School of Law, graduating in 1962. He served on the Tulane Law Review Board of Editors and was elected to the Order of the Coif. That same year, he was admitted to the Louisiana State Bar. Army career Early career While at Trinity, Suter was involved in the school's ROTC program. At Fort Hood in 1958, he had the opportunity to meet Elvis Presley, who was going through basic training at the time. After graduating from a basic armor officer's course, Suter attended the Judge Advocate General's School in Charlottesville, Virginia. As a captain in the mid-1960s, Suter was a popular instructor of administrative law to hundreds of new judge advocates attending their initial training at the JAG School. Before moving on to his next assignment in Thailand, he attended airborne training at Fort Benning, Georgia where he earned his parachutist badge. In 1971, he volunteered for service in Vietnam and was assigned as the Chief, Law Division in Long Binh. After less than four months, Suter was made Deputy Staff Judge Advocate of U.S. forces in Vietnam. A young leader A year later, Suter became the Assistant for Plans in the Judge Advocate General's Corps Plans, Personnel and Training Office and worked at the Pentagon. Following graduation from the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas in 1974, Suter was moved to Fort Campbell, Kentucky and made a Staff Judge Advocate for the 101st Airborne Division, where his division commander was future Army Chief of Staff John A. Wickham. Coincidentally, Suter also served with future Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary