General Carter Ham

Carter F. Ham (born February 16, 1952) is a retired United States Army general, who served as the second Commander, U.S. Africa Command. In that position, he was in command of the initial 2011 military intervention in Libya.

Ham previously served as the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army from August 28, 2008 to March 8, 2011. Prior to that, he served as Director for Operations (J-3) at the Joint Staff from August 2007 to August 2008 and the Commanding General, U.S. 1st Infantry Division from August 2006 to August 2007, and during the Balkan crisis in the mid 1990s was the commander of "Operation Able Sentry" in Macedonia.

Early life and education

Ham was born on February 16, 1952 in Portland, Oregon, and attended Charles F. Brush High School. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from the John Carroll University, as well as an M.A. in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College.

Career
Ham speaking to reporters during a press briefing at the Pentagon in October 2005. Ham being sworn in as the commander of USAREUR by Michael Mullen in August 2008.

Ham enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1974 and served two years as an infantryman in the 82nd Airborne Division before being accepted in the Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps (Army ROTC) while attending John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio. He was commissioned, as an infantry officer, as a Distinguished Military Graduate in 1976.

He later received his master's degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island as well as graduating from several military schools including the Infantry Officer Basic Course, the Armor Officer Advanced Course, the College of Naval Command and Staff of the U.S. Naval War College and the U.S. Air Force Air War College. He is a member of the John Carroll University ROTC Hall of Fame. He and his wife, Christi, are both John Carroll University graduates.

Ham's early assignments included service at Fort Knox, Kentucky and tours of duty in Italy and Germany. After graduating from the Armor Officers Advanced Course, he was a Recruiting Area Commander in Lima, Ohio. In 1984, he served with a joint service unit in support of the Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

General Carter Ham (ret.) is also Senior Fellow at the Association of the United States Army, a private non-profit organization with 125 chapters world