[4] Ward left the Army in 1994 and pursued a variety of jobs ranging from ranch hand to mill worker.
[5][6] He had been the top cadet in his class at the Oregon Public Safety Academy, earning awards for marksmanship and understanding defensive tactics.
[9] Ward was serving as the Harney County sheriff in January 2016 when a loosely organized militia group occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
Ward worked with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Oregon State Police to maintain order and protect local citizens during the occupation.
"[10] At one point during negotiations, Ward did not encourage armed militants to remove their firearms, which attracted criticism from Harney County Judge Steve Grasty.
He also encouraged residents, who he noticed were divided by the political rhetoric of the militants, to express their issues to one another rather than staying silent.