General Membership Welcome Reception for LTG Paul Funk with Guest Speaker AUSA President GEN (r) Carter Ham and Vietnam Veteran Recognition

The Central Texas Fort Hood Chapter of AUSA will host a general membership welcome reception for LTG Paul Funk, commander of III Corps and Fort Hood, on Tuesday, 16 May 2017 from 1700 to 1900 at the Phantom Warrior Center on Fort Hood. Tickets for the event will be $10 and can be purchased by clicking the following link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/general-membership-welcome-reception-with-ltg-paul-funk-tickets-34259192166  Ticket sales will close on 12 May.

Dress for the event will be Texas casual.  Heavy Hors d'oeurves will be served and a cash bar will be available.

In addition to the welcome reception for LTG Funk, AUSA President GEN (r) Carter Ham will be the guest speaker for the evening.

General Carter Ham is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Association of the United States Army, a Virginia-based, private non-profit organization with 119 chapters worldwide that acts primarily as an advocacy group for the Army and its soldiers, families and retirees.

General Ham retired from the United States Army in 2013 as the Commander, U.S. Africa Command where he traveled to 42 countries as part the Command's efforts to enhance America's security by establishing and developing partnerships. He directed military operations, including leading coalition forces during the Libyan conflict in 2011, hostage rescue operations in Somalia and counter-terrorism operations across the African continent.

Prior to leading AFRICOM, General Ham was the commander of all U.S. Army forces in Europe, where he oversaw troops deployed to the Balkans, to Iraq and as part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization mission in Afghanistan. He spent nearly four decades in the Army and is one of a very small number of military leaders who rose from the rank of Private to four-star General.

General Ham served in various capacities both in the field and in the Pentagon. In January 2004, he assumed command of Multinational Brigade (Task Force Olympia) – North in Mosul, Iraq serving there until February 2005. He commanded the First Infantry Division (the Big Red One) and, later, served as the Director of Operations, J3, at the Joint Staff. In retirement, he chaired the Congressionally-mandated National Commission on the Future of the Army.

He is a 1976 Distinguished Military Graduate of John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio. General Ham earned a master's degree from the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island. He and his wife, Christi (also a John Carroll graduate and a lifelong educator), have two grown children and three fast-growing grandchildren.

The evening will conclude with a Vietnam Veteran recognition event. Vietnam veterans will be provided a commemorative pin in honor of their service during the Vietnam conflict.