 He became Commanding General, 25th Infantry Division (Light) in June 1997, and served in that position until he was named Commanding General, I Corps and Fort Lewis, in September 1999.From 2002 until his retirement, Hill was the Commanding General of the United States Southern Command [SOUTHCOM], overseeing all US military forces in Central and South America

Hill joined the Board of Trustees for Fraunhofer USA, a bio-technology firm, in 2006.He is also the founder of the J.T.