Editing Shawn Mullins (section)

==Early life and military career==
Mullins was born in [[Atlanta]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]. He cultivated an interest in music beginning in his days at [[Clarkston High School (Georgia)|Clarkston High School]] in [[Clarkston, Georgia]] (where he made the acquaintance of friend and mentor [[Amy Ray]] of the [[Indigo Girls]]).<ref name=country>{{cite web|url=http://www.harborcountry-news.com/features/shawn-mullins-to-bring-honest-sound-and-the-hit-to/article_48bb1f43-f45f-5c1a-9976-868f397bfc78.html|title=Shawn Mullins to bring honest sound and 'the hit' to The Acorn|website=harborcountry-news.com|access-date=25 August 2017}}</ref> Later, he honed his craft in his college days at [[University of North Georgia]] (then known as North Georgia College) as a solo acoustic musician and bandmaster of the military marching band ([[Golden Eagle Band]]). He attended the University of North Georgia <ref name=ency/> on an [[United States Army|Army]] [[ROTC]] scholarship with an intention of possibly pursuing a military career.  Although he quickly abandoned this notion in favor of songwriting, the contract nonetheless obliged him after graduation to serve a short term as an inactive [[infantry]] [[Officer (armed forces)|officer]] in the [[Individual Ready Reserve]] component of the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] [[United States Army Reserve|Reserve]].<ref name=ency/> He served in an inactive status, reaching the rank of 1st lieutenant before fulfilling his service obligation and resigning honorably.