John D. Howard graduated from West Point in 1964, beginning a military career that included two tours in Vietnam and service as platoon commander, company commander, battalion commander, brigade commander, division operations officer, division chief of staff, deputy commanding general of the 10th Mountain Division, executive assistant to the U.S. Army vice chief of staff, and U.S. Defense Representative in Pakistan. He is a graduate of the Infantry School, Airborne School, Ranger School, the Naval Postgraduate School, and the Army War College. He retired in 1992 as a brigadier general and spent the next twenty years as a business executive. His combat awards include the Silver Star, Purple Heart, five Bronze Stars, and the Combat Infantryman's Badge. Howard lives in Arlington, Virginia.