United States Secretary of the Army
Born in Kinston, North Carolina, Howard received a Bachelor of Science degree from United States Military Academy at West Point in 1962 and a Juris Doctor from Wake Forest University School of Law in 1970. From 1962 to 1972, he served as a major in the United States Army. He was a legislative counsel for the United States Secretary of the Army, from 1971 to 1972. After his military service, he worked as general counsel and marketing manager for Dixon Marketing, Inc. in Kinston in 1972. He was an Assistant United States Attorney of the Eastern District of North Carolina from 1973 to 1974. In 1974, he was a deputy special counsel of the Executive Office of the President of the United States. He was in private practice in Greenville, North Carolina from 1975 to 1988, and was a civilian aide to the United States Secretary of the Army for North Carolina, from 1986 to 1988.