Joseph Ralston

Joseph W. Ralston
General Joseph W. Ralston
Born	(1943-11-04) November 4, 1943 (age 73) Hopkinsville, Kentucky
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Air Force
Years of service	1965–2003
Rank	General
Commands held	Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
Battles/wars	Vietnam War
Awards	Defense Distinguished Service Medal (2) Air Force Distinguished Service Medal Legion of Merit (3) Distinguished Flying Cross (4) Meritorious Service Medal (3) Air Medal (20) Air Force Commendation Medal (5) French Légion d'honneur German Merit Cross of the Federal Republic (Order of Merit)
Other work	Board of Directors, URS Corporation

General Joseph W. Ralston (born November 4, 1943) is currently the United States Special Envoy for Countering the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and holds senior positions in various defense related corporations. He previously served as the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (from 1996 to 2000) as well as Supreme Allied Commander for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Europe.

Ralston has served in the military since 1965. He has served in operational command at squadron, wing, numbered air force and major command, as well as various staff and management positions at every level of the United States Air Force.

Ralston became Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1996. He was favorite to become Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1997, however following revelations of a secret affair he remained Vice Chairman until May 2000. He then became Supreme Allied Commander for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Europe until January 2003.

Bill Clinton writes in his memoirs My Life that Ralston was used to resolve a potentially sticky situation with Pakistan in which the US would use Pakistani airspace to strike at the Al-Qaeda organization meeting in Afghanistan following the US Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. There was US concern that Pakistan's intelligence services would tip off the targets or even worse assume the missiles over Pakistan came from India, potentially triggering a nuclear conflict on the Indian sub-continent. As Clinton writes on page 799 of My Life, "we decided to send the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joe Ralston, to have dinner with the top Pakistani military commander at the time the attacks were scheduled. Ralston would tell him (the Pakistani general) what was happening a few minutes before our missiles invaded Pakistani airspace, too late to alert the Taliban or Al-Qaeda, but in time to avoid having them shot down or sparking a counterattack on India."