Col Ward enlisted in the Marine Corps in April 1988. As an NCO and SNCO, Col Ward's assignments included Camp Fuji, Japan, 3rd Marine Division; NAS Millington, TN; Drill Instructor, Parris Island, SC; Sergeant Instructor, Officer Candidate School (OCS) Quantico. Col Ward graduated from OCS in August 1998 and in April 1999 graduated from The Basic School. After completing Logistics Officer School in August 1999, he was first assigned to 8th Engineer Support Battalion, 2d Force Service Support Group, Camp Lejeune, NC.
Col Ward’s staff assignments include: Battalion S-4 Officer, 8th Engineer Support Battalion, 2nd FSSG from 2000-2001; Battalion S-4 Officer, 7th Communications Battalion, III MHG, Okinawa, Japan from 2001-2004; Marine Officer Instructor (MOI), George Washington University from 2004-2007; Graduate Education Monitor, Officer Assignments (MMOA) from 2007-2010; Operations Officer, 1st Marine Logistics Group (1st MLG) from 2010-2011; Battalion Executive Officer, Combat Logistics Battalion 11 (CLB-11), 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit from 2011-2012;, Current Operations Group, Plans, Policies, and Operations (PP&O), HQMC from 2012-2014; Aide de Camp to the 36th Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Joseph Dunford, Jr. from 2014-2015; Future Operations Officer, United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM), Tampa, Florida from 2018-2020.
Col Ward’s command billets include: Platoon Commander and Company Commander, 8th Engineer Support Battalion from 1999-2001; Squadron Commander, Marine Wing Support Squadron 373, 3d Marine Aircraft Wing from 2015-2017.
His personal awards include the Joint Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster in lieu of second award, Meritorious Service Medal with two Gold Stars in lieu of third award, Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal with six Gold Stars in lieu of seventh award, Joint Achievement Medal, and numerous campaign and unit awards. Col Ward is a graduate of Amphibious Warfare School and Marine Corps Command and Staff. He graduated from Park College with a BS in Criminal Justice and holds Master's degrees in International Policy from the George Washington University; Human Environmental Science from the University of Alabama; and Human Relations from the University of Oklahoma. Col Ward is a graduate of the National War College in Washington D.C. and holds a Master of Science degree in National Security Strategy.