16 Facts About Joseph Ralston

General Joseph Wood Ralston was born on November 4,1943 and is a retired general and diplomat who holds senior positions in various defense related corporations.

Joseph Ralston was previously a career officer in the United States Air Force, and served as the fourth vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Supreme Allied Commander for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Europe, and the United States Special Envoy for countering the Kurdistan Workers Party.

Joseph Ralston served in operational command at squadron, wing, numbered air force and major command, as well as various staff and management positions at every level of the USAF.

Joseph Ralston became Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1996.

Joseph Ralston was favored to become Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1997.

Joseph Ralston retired in March 2003 and joined the Board of Trustees of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Former US president Bill Clinton writes in his memoirs My Life that Joseph Ralston was used to resolve a potentially sticky situation with Pakistan in which the US would use Pakistani airspace to strike at the Al-Qaeda organization meeting in Afghanistan following the US Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania.

Joseph Ralston would tell him what was happening a few minutes before our missiles invaded Pakistani airspace, too late to alert the Taliban or Al-Qaeda, but in time to avoid having them shot down or sparking a counterattack on India.

In September 2006, Ralston was assigned as Special Envoy for Countering the Kurdistan Workers Party by US president George W Bush.

Joseph Ralston was one of at least three retired four-star generals asked by the Bush administration to oversee both wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Joseph Ralston is director of the Timken Company and the URS Corporation, is on the Board of Directors of Lockheed Martin and has been Vice Chairman of the Cohen Group, since March 2003.

Joseph Ralston sits on the advisory board of the American Turkish Council, an American-Turkish lobby group.

In 1997, Ralston was the top candidate to succeed John M Shalikashvili as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1997 when it became public that Ralston had an extramarital affair with a married civilian CIA employee during the 1980s.

Joseph Ralston said he and his wife were separated at the time while his wife said that the affair continued afterwards and led to their divorce.

Joseph Ralston held various senior positions in defense and security-related corporations, simultaneously with his diplomatic role as "anti PKK coordinator".

Critics said Joseph Ralston was using his influence as special envoy to secure large government weapons contracts for arms maker Lockheed Martin where he was on the board of directors.