A native of Huntsville, Alabama, he was commissioned in the Ordnance Corps upon graduation from the United States Military Academy in 1979.

In 1983, he was assigned as intelligence and operations officer with the 68th Transportation Battalion, 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized), followed by command of the 50th Ordnance Company (Special Ammo), Fort Carson, Colorado.

He served as the deputy logistics officer, Joint Task Force 180, during the Division's deployment to Haiti as part of Operation Uphold Democracy.

In July 1999, he returned to the Resource Management Office, Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, at the Pentagon.

While in command of the Defense Distribution Center from August 2006 to June 2008, his failure to correct problems in the supply system that had been identified in earlier audits led to the shipment of four electrical fuses for ballistic missile nuclear warheads to Taiwan.

During his tenure, he led the relocation and consolidation of the Ordnance Branch from Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland and Redstone Arsenal, Alabama to its new home at Fort Lee, Virginia.