Abraham J . Turner Abraham J . Turner is a retired Major General in the United States Army and is the Executive Director of the Department of Employment and Workforce in South Carolina . Biography . Turner was born and raised in Mount Pleasant , South Carolina , son of Reverend Joseph Turner , Sr . and Maggie Turner . He is married to Linda Turner , with three children . One of this children presently attends his parents ' alma mater . Turner attended a tribute to Lieutenant General Henry Doctor Jr . alongside Colin Powell in which he spoke of Doctor as " Dad . " After graduating high school he enrolled in the music program at South Carolina State University where he participated in the Reserve Officer Training Corps . After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Music from South Carolina State University , he accepted a commission into the United States Army as a Second Lieutenant in 1976 . While attending the U . S . Army War College he earned a master ’ s degree in Public Administration from Shippensburg University , Penn . Career . Military . Turner was Deputy Chief of Staff , G - 3 / 5 / 7 , U . S . Army Training and Doctrine Command , Fort Monroe , Virginia . Prior to this he served as Commanding General , U . S . Army Training Center and Fort Jackson , Ft . Jackson , South Carolina , assistant Chief of Staff , C - 3 , Coalition Forces Land Component Command , Camp Doha , Kuwait , assistant Division Commander ( Operations ) , 82d Airborne Division , Fort Bragg , North Carolina , and Chief , House Legislative Liaison Division , Office of the Chief , Legislative Liaison , U . S . Army , Washington , D . C . As Commander of Fort Jackson , Turner added a flag from a World War I African - American regiment to the museum . Turner ' s combat experiences include a combat jump into Panama during Operation Just Cause , a deployment during Operations Desert Shield , and deployments in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom . In 2009 , General Turner served as the program keynote speaker and presented eighteen - year - old Kambrell H . Garvin with the Millennium Magazine " Celebrating Your Gifts Award . " Garvin was elected to lead the South Carolina NAACP Youth and College Division . He was the principal adviser to the commander and deputy commander , United States Strategic Command , and directs the activities of the command staff by developing and implementing policies and procedures in support of the command ’ s missions . He chairs numerous boards , oversees the command corporate process , and serves as director of the commander ’ s staff . Post - Military . Formerly , Turner was appointed by Nikki Haley to be the Executive Director of the Department of Employment and Workforce in South Carolina . February 15 , 2013 he resigned for " personal reasons " after being questioned by the state legislature about his mismanagement of SCDEW ( laying off 75 frontline staff while giving himself a $ 33 , 000 raise ) . In 2012 Turner served as a panelist for the Tuskegee Airman join Black History Month symposium , themed , " Hometown Heroes : The Struggles and Accomplishments of Black Veterans . " Honors , awards and decorations . Among his awards and decorations , Turner has been awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal , Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters , Bronze Star Medal with oak leaf cluster , Defense Meritorious Service Medal , and Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters . Highway naming . On March 27 , 2008 a bill was introduced in the South Carolina Senate to rename a portion of Highway 41 in Charleston County the " Major General Abraham J . Turner Highway "