Joseph Ralston of Hopkinsville, Ky., began his career an Air Force ROTC student and retired as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe. He is the senior ranking airman and military officer that Kentucky has ever produced.

Born in Hopkinsville, Ky., in 1943 and now retired and living in Anchorage, Ala. (with a second home in Arlington, Va.), Gen. Joseph W. Ralston remains a dynamic and influential patriarch of modern military aviation - research, development, production and employment; also, he is an influential and respected international consultant and advisor on current military/political matters throughout the world. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Lockheed Martin Corp., of the Timken Steel Company, of the URS Corporation (international design and construction), and of the US Defenses Science Board, Also, he is the Vice Chairman of the Cohen Group of international consultants in Washington, DC, and a Trustee of the Eisenhower Institute and the Atlantic Council of the United States.

Ralston completed college and Air Force ROTC at Miami University (Ohio) in 1965 and went on active duty with the Air Force until his retirement in early 2003. At the time of his retirement, he was serving as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR).

In terms of the levels of command and the diversity of operational responsibilities, Gen. Ralston was by far the most influential and senior ranking airman and military officer that Kentucky has ever produced. He held command positions at ever level of US Air Force organization - from Squadron to Major Command, including the Air Combat Command, where he commanded all of the combat aircraft units of the USAF not deployed to regional commands overseas.

Following this assignment, he was for three years the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the second-ranking officer in the entire military of the United States. After leaving the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he was appointed and served three years as the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), with command of the NATO forces of nineteen nations throughout the Western Europe region, the United States, and Canada. In this position, he served in the Allied nation's overall commander-in-chiefs role in Europe, a position earlier held by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Gen. Ralston retired from his 38-year career in 2003; Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen remarked of Gen Ralston, "The historians of tomorrow will look to the operations of today and know that the legacy of Joe Ralston will be measured in lives saved and victories secured." He said, "We have witnessed his fortitude and unconquerable resolve in guiding America's forces through operations the world over. … We have witnessed the thoughtfulness of a humble heart… Joe Ralston commands respect because he respects those he commands."