Carter F. Ham
Born	(1952-02-16) February 16, 1952 (age 60) Portland, Oregon[1]
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1976–present
Rank	General
Commands held	U.S. Africa Command U.S. Army, Europe U.S. 1st Infantry Division
Battles/wars	Operation Desert Storm Operation Able Sentry (Macedonia) Operation Iraqi Freedom Operation Odyssey Dawn (Libya)
Awards	Distinguished Service Medal Defense Superior Service Medal Legion of Merit Bronze Star Medal Meritorious Service Medal Joint Service Commendation Medal Army Commendation Medal Army Achievement Medal

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

Ham previously served as Commanding General, 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. He assumed his current assignment with the Africa Command on March 8, 2011.

Career[link]

Ham served as an enlisted Infantryman in the 82nd Airborne Division before attending John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio. He was commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant through the Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps (Army ROTC) in the Infantry 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.

From 1984 until 1989, Ham served as Assistant Inspector General, then as Battalion S-3 and Executive Officer with the Opposing Force at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, California. He attended the College of Naval Command and Staff, graduating with distinction in 1990, and was then assigned to the US Army Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia.

He served a tour as an advisor with a Saudi Arabian National Guard Brigade in Riyadh then returned to Fort Benning, where he was the executive officer for the Infantry School. Ham commanded the 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry in Vilseck, Germany including a six month tour with the United Nations Protection Forces in the Republic of Macedonia. Following battalion command, he was the Senior Observer/Controller of the Timberwolf Team at the Combat Maneuver Training Center, Hohenfels, Germany.

He graduated from the Air War College in 1997 then returned to Germany where he served as G-3, then Chief of Staff, 1st Infantry Division. From 1999 to 2001 he commanded the 29th Infantry Regiment at Fort Benning, then served as Deputy Director, J-8, United States Central Command in Tampa, Florida and Qatar. Ham was assigned as the Deputy Commanding General for Training and Readiness, I Corps at Fort Lewis, Wash. in August 2003. In January 2004, he assumed command of Multinational Brigade (Task Force Olympia) – North in Mosul, Iraq serving there until February 2005. During his time in Iraq General Ham suffered Posttraumatic stress disorder, caused from attending the aftermath of a suicide bombing. He later sought treatment for his condition and publicly encouraged other soldiers to do the same.

Returning from Iraq, Ham served as the Deputy Director for Regional Operations, J-3, on The Joint Staff. Ham assumed command of the 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kansas in August 2006 and served as the Commanding General until July 2007, returning to The Joint Staff as Director for Operations, J-3. On August 28, 2008, he became the 34th Commander of the United States Army Europe headquartered at Campbell Barracks, Heidelberg, Germany.

The United States Senate, in November 2010, confirmed Ham’s nomination to become the next Commander of U.S. Africa Command, headquartered at Kelley Barracks, Stuttgart, Germany.^[2] He assumed the post on March 8, 2011.

Ham is in command of US forces enforcing the Libyan no-fly zone, along with Admiral Samuel J. Locklear.^{[citation needed]} Described as "in charge of the coalition effort", Ham on March 21, 2011 "said there would be coalition airstrikes on Colonel Qaddafi’s mobile air defenses and that some 80 sorties – only half of them by the United States – had been flown on Monday."^[3] Admiral Locklear, aboard the flagship Mount Whitney, has tactical command of the Operation Odyssey Dawn joint taskforce.^[4] "General Ham also said he had “full authority” to attack the regime’s forces if they refused to comply with President Obama’s demands that they pull back from Ajdabiya, Misrata and Zawiya," according to one report. Earlier, he said that the United States was not working with the Libyan rebels. “Our mission is not to support any opposition forces,” Ham said by video feed to the Pentagon from his headquarters in Stuttgart.^[3]

Education[link]

Charles F. Brush High School
John Carroll University – B.A. – Political Science
Naval War College – M.A. – National Security and Strategic Studies

Dates of rank[link]

Second Lieutenant	First Lieutenant	Captain	Major	Lieutenant Colonel
O-1	O-2	O-3	O-4	O-5
June 1976	June 1978	August 1980	June 1987	September 1992

Colonel	Brigadier General	Major General	Lieutenant General	General
O-6	O-7	O-8	O-9	O-10
April 1998	October 2003	February 2005	August 2007	August 2008

Major duty assignments[link]

Decorations and badges[link]

	Army Distinguished Service Medal (with one bronze oak leaf cluster)
	Defense Superior Service Medal (with two oak leaf clusters)
	Legion of Merit (with oak leaf cluster)
	Bronze Star Medal
	Meritorious Service Medal (with silver oak leaf cluster)
	Joint Service Commendation Medal
	Army Commendation Medal (with two oak leaf clusters)
	Army Achievement Medal (with two oak leaf clusters)
	Joint Meritorious Unit Award (with two oak leaf clusters)
	Meritorious Unit Commendation
	Superior Unit Award (with oak leaf cluster)
	National Defense Service Medal (with two bronze service stars)
	Southwest Asia Service Medal (with service star)
	Iraq Campaign Medal (with two service stars)
	Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
	Armed Forces Service Medal
	Army Service Ribbon
	Overseas Service Ribbon (with award numeral 3)
	United Nations Medal
	Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia)
	Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)
	Polish Army Medal in Gold (not worn)[5]

	Combat Action Badge
	Expert Infantryman Badge
	Basic Parachutist Badge (United States)
	Ranger Tab
	Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge
	United States Africa Command Badge
	I Corps Combat Service Identification Badge

Image gallery[link]

• 

  Ham being sworn in as a general, 2008

• 

  Ham as major general, 2006.

• 

  Ham as brigadier general.

• 

  Brigadier General Ham during a press briefing, 2005.

References[link]

External links[link]

Biography portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Carter Ham

• General Carter F. Ham: Commanding General, U.S. Army Europe, biography.