, Macedonia, speaking to Admiral
William Owens in 1995 in October 2005 in August 2008 Ham enlisted in the
United States Army in 1973 and served 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. An ROTC Distinguished Military Graduate, Ham was commissioned as an infantry officer in 1976. He later received his master's degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the
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 Naval War College's College of Naval Command and Staff, and the
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 Officer 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 Operations Officer (S-3) and Executive Officer with the Opposing Force (OPFOR) 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
U.S. Army Infantry School at
Fort Benning, Georgia. Ham served a tour as an advisor with a
Saudi Arabian National Guard Brigade in
Riyadh as part of
OPM-SANG 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. Ham graduated from the Air War College in 1997 then returned to Germany, where he served as Operations Officer (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 for Resources and Analysis (J-8) for
United States Central Command at
MacDill AFB in Tampa, Florida and in Doha, Qatar, during which time he was selected for promotion to brigadier general. Ham was assigned as the deputy commanding general for training and readiness,
I Corps at Fort Lewis, Washington 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, Ham suffered from
post-traumatic stress disorder, which was caused by his attending the aftermath of a deadly suicide bombing at a mess hall. 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 28 August 2008, Ham became the 34th Commanding General of the
United States Army Europe headquartered at Campbell Barracks,
Heidelberg, Germany. In 2010, Ham served as co-chair for the comprehensive review of issues associated with the repeal of the "
Don't ask, don't tell" policy. The
United States Senate, confirmed Ham's nomination to become the next Commanding General of
United States Africa Command, headquartered at
Kelley Barracks, Stuttgart, Germany, in November 2010. He assumed the post on 8 March 2011. Ham was in command of United States forces enforcing the
Libyan no-fly zone, along with Admiral
Samuel J. Locklear. Described as "in charge of the coalition effort", Ham on 21 March 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." Admiral Locklear, aboard the flagship
Mount Whitney, had tactical command of the
Operation Odyssey Dawn joint taskforce. Ham also said he had "full authority to attack the regime's forces if they refused to comply with President
Barack 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. as Commander Africa Command, Ham was succeeded by General
David M. Rodriguez. General Ham retired in June 2013. While speaking in December 2012 at Chatham House, Ham said while he would not characterize the U.S.-China relationship in Africa as adversarial, the two countries had taken different approaches to the continent. The United States focused on investment in human capital while China focused on infrastructure development. ==Post-retirement==