William E. Ward

William E. "Kip" Ward (born March 6, 1949 ) is a former general in the US Army . From 2007 to 2011 he was the first commander of the US Africa Command .

Military career

Ward received his officer license as a second lieutenant in the infantry on June 6, 1971 . He completed the basic infantry training for officers, as well as the advanced course, the Command and General Staff College , and the US Army War College . He holds a Masters of Arts in Political Science from Pennsylvania State University and a Bachelor of Arts , also in Political Science, from Morgan State University . Its overseas uses include South Korea , Egypt , Somalia , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Israel, and Germany. It also has a number of uses in the continental United States , Alaska and Hawaii .

He was employed as a platoon leader , 3rd Battalion , 325th Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg , North Carolina ; Company commander in 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division at Camp Howze , South Korea; Logistics Officer ( S-4 ) of the 210th US Field Artillery Brigade, VII US Corps of the 7th US Army in Germany; Commander of the 5th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade of the 6th Infantry Division in Fort Wainwright , Alaska (after he served as a logistics officer (G-4) of the brigade); Commander of the 2nd Brigade of the 10th Mountain Infantry Division in Fort Drum , New York and during Operation Restore Hope in Mogadishu , Somalia in 1992/93 ; assistant division commander for supplies to the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg. From 1999 to 2000 Ward served as the commanding general of the 25th Infantry Division and the US Army Hawaii in the Schofield Barracks in Hawaii. From October 2002 to October 2003 he took over the command of SFOR in Sarajevo . Then he took over the post of Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander of the 7th US Army. In this position he was used from March to December 2005 by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as US Security Coordinator Israel - Palestinian Authority in Israel. On May 3, 2006, Ward then took over the post of deputy commander of the US European Command , becoming the deputy of General Bantz J. Craddock .

His staff assignments were as: First Officer of the US Army Military Community Activity - Aschaffenburg in the 7th US Army in Germany; 1st Battalion First Officer, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, 7th Army; Staff officer for logistics in the office of the deputy chief of staff for logistics of the US Army in Washington, DC ; First Officer of the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army in the Department of Defense ; Assistant Director of Operations (J-3) at the Joint Staff's National Military Command Center, also in Washington, DC; Head of the Office for Military Cooperation at the US Embassy in Egypt; and Vice Director of Operations (J-3) of the Joint Staff . From May 3, 2006 to the end of September 2007, he took over the post of deputy commander of the US European Command and was thus the deputy of Bantz J. Craddock .

On September 28, 2007, Ward's nomination for the post of Commander of the US Africa Command (USAFRICOM) was confirmed by the Senate Armed Services Committee of the US Senate . Therefore, on October 1, Ward was the first to take over the post of commander of the new regional command for Africa. On March 8, 2011, General Ward retired and was succeeded as Commander of the US Africa Command by General Carter F. Ham .

In November 2012, Ward was demoted to three-star general ( Lieutenant General ) for using public funds for private travel and sentenced to a refund.

Ward is married to Joyce Ward and has a son and daughter.