About Us

Retired General Henry H. Shelton spent 38 years in a variety of command and staff positions in the continental United States, Hawaii, and Vietnam. He served two combat tours in Vietnam, the first with the 5th Special Forces Group and the second with the 173rd Airborne Brigade. Also, he commanded the 3rd Battalion, 60th Infantry in the 9th Infantry Division at Fort Lewis, WA; served as the 9th Infantry Division's Chief of Staff for operations; commanded the 1st Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, NC; and, was the Chief of Staff of the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, NY.

Selected for promotion to Brigadier General in 1988, Gen. Shelton served 2 years in the Operations Directorate of the Joint Staff. In 1989 he began a 2-year assignment as the Assistant Division Commander for Operations of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where he participated in the liberation of Kuwait during Operation Desert Sheild/Storm. After the Gulf War, Gen. Shelton was promoted to Major General and assumed command of the 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, NC. In 1993 he was promoted to Lieutenant General and assumed command of the XVIII Airborne Corps. In 1994, during his tenure as Corps commander, Gen Shelton led the U.S. Joint Task Force that restored democracy in Haiti. In March 1996 he was promoted to General and became Commander in Chief of the U.S. Special Operations Command.

Gen. Shelton became the 14th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on October 1, 1997 where he served as the principal military advisor to Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush before retiring on September 30, 2001. For his exemplary service to his country, the 107th Congress bestowed the Congressional Gold Medal on Gen. Shelton on September 19, 2002. He has been decorated by 16 foreign governments and knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. After retiring from the Armed Forces, Gen. Shelton served as President, International Operations, M.I.C. Industries Inc. from 2001 to 2005. He has also served as a Director on a number of public company boards including Anheuser Busch Companies (2001 to 2008), Anteon International Corporation (2001 to 2006), CACI International (2007 to 2008), Professional Products of America (2005 to 2010) and currently serves as Chairman of the Board at Red Hat (2002 to present). He is also a Director or on the Board of Advisors for the following companies: Cubic Corporation, CoVant, A-T Solutions Inc., Robbins-Gioia, The O'Gara Group, and Williams Solutions Inc.. He previously served as a director of BioSignia Inc. and Professional Products Services (P2S).

Gen. Shelton is also the Executive Director of the General Hugh Shelton Leadership Center at North Carolina State University and serves as Director of the Hugh and Carolyn Shelton Military Neurotrauma Foundation, Washington, DC.

Gen. Shelton holds a master's degree from Auburn University, and has attended Harvard University, the Air Command and Staff College, and the National War College.