William E. Ingram Jr.

Lieutenant General William E. Ingram Jr. (born January 21, 1948) is a retired United States Army officer who served as the Director of the Army National Guard.

He was the 20th individual and the third three-star general to lead the Army National Guard since 1948, when the office was established as Chief, Army Division, National Guard Bureau.

In this assignment Ingram guided the formulation, development and implementation of all programs and policies affecting the Army National Guard, a force of more than 350,000 citizen soldiers in the 50 States, three Territories and the District of Columbia.

William Emmett Ingram Jr. was born in Elizabeth City, North Carolina on January 21, 1948.

He enlisted as an Infantryman in the North Carolina Army National Guard in 1970 and received his commission in 1972 as a Distinguished Graduate of the North Carolina Military Academy's Officer Candidate School.

In civilian life, from 1975 to 1988 Ingram was General Manager, Corporate Secretary and Treasurer of N.C. Green Oil Company, a petroleum marketing firm in Williamston.

He is a past director of the North Carolina Petroleum Marketers Association and the Williamston Rotary Club as well as a past director of the Martin County Chamber of Commerce and the Martin County Bureau of Travel and Tourism.

General Ingram was also a director of Martin County's Committee of 100, an organization involved in local economic development efforts.

Ingram is a native of coastal North Carolina.

His wife Lil and he have three adult children and two granddaughters.

General Ingram's father, Major General William E. Ingram Sr., served as Adjutant General of North Carolina from 1977 To 1983.

In 1997 Ingram deployed to the Balkans as Commander of Task Force Pershing, based at Camp Sava North, Slavonski Brod, Croatia.

He then commanded the 60th Troop Command in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, before returning to the Balkans in 1999 to serve as Chief of Staff, United Nations Preventative Deployment (UNPREDEP), Skopje, Macedonia and Commander, Task Force Sabre, Camp Able Sentry, Petrovec, Macedonia.

In July 2001, Ingram was appointed Adjutant General of North Carolina, where he oversaw the largest mobilization of the North Carolina National Guard since World War II.

While serving as the Adjutant General he also served as a member and subsequently as chairman of the Army Reserve Forces Policy Committee.

In October 2010, he was called to the Pentagon to serve as special assistant to the Army's Vice Chief of Staff.

Ingram assumed the position and was promoted to lieutenant general on November 28, 2011 in a ceremony held at the Pentagon, which was presided over by Army Chief of Staff Raymond T. Odierno and National Guard Bureau Chief Craig R. McKinley.

During his career, Ingram advanced through staff and command positions of increasing rank and responsibility, including Commander of 1st Battalion 119th Infantry and Commander of the 139th Support Detachment.

He served in this assignment until his November, 2011 appointment to succeed Raymond W. Carpenter as Director of the Army National Guard.

He retired in a ceremony presided over by Frank J. Grass at Joint Base Myer–Henderson Hall on January 14, 2014.

He retired in January, 2014, and was followed by Major General Judd H. Lyons, the Deputy Director, who was appointed Acting Director pending the selection of a permanent successor.

Ingram received a second award of the Army Distinguished Service Medal at his retirement ceremony.