User:Ballardjr/sandbox/John R. Ballard

John Randall Ballard (born March 30, 1957) is a retired Marine officer currently serving as a member of the Senior Executive Service within the Department of Transportation, as the Academic Dean and Provost at the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY.

Early Life and Education. Ballard was born in Indianapolis, Indiana to John P. and B. Joan Ballard. He graduated from Culver Military Academy in 1975. Ballard earned his B.S. at the United States Naval Academy, his M.A. at California State University, Dominquez Hills, his brevet d’études militaires supérieures at the École Supérieure de Guerre in Paris, France, and his Ph.D. at The Catholic University of America.

Military Career. Ballard began his professional life as a Marine infantry officer. Initially assigned to the Third Marine Division, he served as a platoon commander and company executive officer. Transferred to the Marine Corps Recruit Training Depot at Paris Island, SC, he served as a series commander, aide-de-camp and company commander. He then commanded a rifle company in the Second Marine Division and and attended the French Joint Staff College in Paris, Fr. Ballard served as the plans officer for Joint Task Force-190 during operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti in 1994. Ballard commanded an infantry battalion in the Fourth Marine Division from 1997 to 1999 before assuming command of the Fourth Civil Affairs group and leading the group in combat during the Iraq War. His final military assignment was as a member of the Office of the Secretary of Defense in the Pentagon.

Academic Career. As an academic, he initially served as an Associate Professor and then Professor of History at the Joint Forces Staff College before he was selected as the foundation Chair and Professor of Defence Studies at New Zealand’s Massey University. Later he served as Professor of Joint Military Operations at the Naval War College, as Professor of National Security Strategy at the National War College, as Academic Dean at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, as Dean of Faculty and Academic Programs at the National War College, and as the founding Dean of the National Defense College in the United Arab Emirates. Most recently, he served as the Vice President for Veteran’s and Military Partnerships and Director of the Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.

Ballard has published articles in Joint Force Quarterly, the Marine Corps Gazette, Military Review, the U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, Terrorism and Political Violence, Small Wars and Insurgencies, and Nation Shield; he has presented papers and conducted seminars worldwide on strategy, leadership and military history. His published books include: Upholding Democracy: the U.S. Military Campaign in Haiti 1994-1997 (Praeger, 1998), Continuity during the Storm (Greenwood, 2000), Fighting for Fallujah (Praeger Security International, 2006), Triumph of Self-Determination, Operation Stabilise and United Nations Peacemaking in East Timor (Praeger Security International, 2008), From Storm to Freedom, The Long American War with Iraq (Naval Institute Press, 2010), and From Kabul to Baghdad and Back, the U.S. at War in Iraq and Afghanistan (Naval Institute Press, 2012).

Personal Life. Ballard is married to Dr. Rose Cardarelli, an international humanitarian and NGO Representative to the United Nations in New York City. They are both members of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.

Awards and Decorations. Ballard has been recognized with a Distinguished Writing Award from the Army Historical Foundation, a Department of the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Medal, and various military decorations, including the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, and the Bronze Star Medal. He was named the recipient of the Society of the Colonial Daughters of the Seventeenth Century Award and the General Horace Porter Award in History at the U.S. Naval Academy.