Astronaut Bolden Joins S.C. BlueCross BlueShield Board

COLUMBIA, S.C., July 31 /PRNewswire/ — BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina today announced that retired Maj. Gen. Charles F. Bolden Jr. has joined its board of directors.

Bolden is a native of Columbia, S.C., and a graduate of Columbia’s C.A. Johnson High School and the U.S. Naval Academy. He flew four missions aboard the space shuttles Columbia, Discovery and Atlantis, logging more than 680 hours in orbit. He had previously flown more than 100 combat missions over Southeast Asia while in the U.S. Marine Corps in the 1970s.

Following flight and high-level administration positions with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Bolden rejoined the Marine Corps and served as commanding general for Operation Desert Thunder in Kuwait in 1998, among numerous command assignments. He retired from the military in 2003 after serving as commanding general of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.

Currently the CEO of JACKandPANTHER LLC, Bolden resides in Houston. He also is a member of the boards of the University of Southern California and Marathon Oil Corp.

“General Bolden brings leadership and experience in both the government and private sectors and has a strong interest in his native South Carolina. We heartily welcome him to the leadership of our company,” said BlueCross BlueShield Chairman and CEO, M. Edward Sellers.

Headquartered in Columbia, S.C., BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina (http://www.southcarolinablues.com/) is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina and its family of companies include more than 20 subsidiaries involved in health insurance services, U.S. DOD health plan and Medicare contracts, and other insurance and employee benefits services.

BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina

CONTACT: Elizabeth Hammond of BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina,+1-803-264-4626

Web site: http://www.southcarolinablues.com/