During his service in the Marine Corps, Steele participated in the operation to evacuate American citizens from Lebanon in 1976.
He later served in the Alabama National Guard as a pilot and as commanding officer of an assault helicopter company.
[1] After his service in the Marine Corps, Steele attended the University of Alabama School of Law, receiving a Juris Doctor.
[1] Steele served as a United States magistrate judge for the Southern District of Alabama from 1990 to 2003.
[1] Steele was nominated by President George W. Bush on January 7, 2003, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama vacated by Judge Richard W. Vollmer Jr.