Carter Ham Carter F . Ham ( born February 16 , 1952 ) is a former United States Army general , who served as the second Commander , U . S . Africa Command . In that position , he was 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 commanded Africa Command from March 8 , 2011 - April 5 , 2013 . Career . Ham enlisted in the Army in 1974 and served two years 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 . He was commissioned , as an infantry officer , 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 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 . 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 , General Ham served as the Deputy Director for Regional Operations , J - 3 , on The Joint Staff . General 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 , General Ham became the 34th Commander of the United States Army Europe headquartered at Campbell Barracks , Heidelberg , Germany . The United States Senate , in November 2010 , confirmed General Ham ’ s nomination to become the next Commander of U . S . Africa Command , headquartered at Kelley Barracks , Stuttgart , Germany . He assumed the post on March 8 , 2011 . General Ham is in command of US forces enforcing the Libyan no - fly zone , along with Admiral Samuel J . Locklear . Described as " in charge of the coalition effort " , General 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 . " Admiral Locklear , aboard the flagship " Mount Whitney " , has tactical command of the Operation Odyssey Dawn joint taskforce . " 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 . On October 18 , 2012 , Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta announced that President Obama will nominate General David Rodriguez to succeed General Carter Ham as commander of U . S . Africa Command . Viewpoints . General Ham has stated ( in an online Washington Post article by Greg Miller and Craig Whitlock , posted on October 1 , 2012 ) that , as a result of Al - Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb ' s overtaking and capturing more territory in Mali in Africa , and possessing arms from Libya after the Libyan civil war which overthrew Colonel Muammar Gaddafi , there is the possibility of the U . S . assisting ( not leading ) counterterror operations done by other countries . A more radical step would be the use of drones . While speaking about the Chinese presence that was " everywhere " in Africa , General Ham expressed an appreciation for the economic competition between China and the US in Africa , observing that China was " very good at infrastructure development - - roads , bridges , airports , government buildings and the like - - constructed by the Chinese in - - which greatly benefits the African people . " Education . Charles F . Brush High School John Carroll University – B . A . – Political Science Naval War College – Master of Arts – National Security and Strategic Studies