Major General
James W. Ball

James William Ball was born in Columbia, Mississippi on 10 February 1939. He completed high school in 1956 and mitriculated at Mississippi State University. He was a member of Kappa Alpha fraternity and a member of Scabard and Blade. An industrial management major and a member of ROTC, he graduated in 1960 as a Distinguished Military Graduate.

Entering the Army in 1960, Lieutenant Ball completed the Infantry School Basic Course and was a Platoon Leader and Assistant S4 with the 2nd Airborne Battle Group, 187th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division. Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Transferring to the Ordnance Corps, he next served as Project Officer and Executive Officer with the Procurement and Product Directorate, U.S. Army Missile Command. Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. Following a tour in France, Ball spent six months S-4 for the 62nd Maintenance Battalion in Vietnam before completing a year as Commander of the 149th Maintenance Company of the 62nd. He completed the Ordnance Advanced Course at Aberdeen in 1968, and, following an assignment with the Defense Contract Administration Services District in Atlanta, the Command and General Staff College course at Fort Leavenworth in 1970. From 1970 until 1973, he was successively Logistics Staff Officer for the Deputy Chief of Logistics. U.S. Army Europe and a student at the U.S. Army Logistics Management Center at Fort Gregg-Adams, Virginia. Ball completed an MS degree in Contract and Procurement Management at the Florida Institute of Technology in 1974.

n 1983, Colonel Ball began a 38 month assignment as Project Manager for Training Devices with the Office of the Deputy Commanding General for Research. Development and Acquisition. U.S. Army Materiel Comand, in Orlando, Florida. Having been selected for Brigadier General in July, 1986, Ball spent two years as Program Executive Officer. Combat Support Systems, U.S. Army Tank-Automotive Command. Warren, Michigan.

General Ball came to the Ordnance Center and School as Chief of Ordnance in August, 1988. During his two year tour, budget allocations were gradually reduced by the Department of the Army from $26 million to less than $19 million. Despite the challenge which this presented, the NCO Academy was recertified, and the Ordnance Museum was readied for recertification after an effort of several years, a process which was successfully completed several months following General Ball's departure. With consistent effort by the entire staff, the caliber of ROTC graduates brought into the Ordnance Corps underwent substantial improvement, and efforts to bring in quality students were made throughout the School program. Needed improvements were made in the ability of enlisted men and NCO's to diagnose and fix equipment faults in the field. The first half of the Warrant Officer Corps course had been moved to Fort Rucker toward the end of General Salomon's tour as Chief, which meant that General Ball could concentrate on upgrading the second half of the course offered at the Ordnance School. Continuing attention was given to the training of reserve components, and considerable effort was expended on the upgrading of existing school facilities and on the completion of several essential new building projects. A bookstore for the students was finally opened in one of the classroom buildings in the summer of 1990, climaxing an effort of many years' duration. General Ball is presently assigned to the Pentagon as Director for Supplies and Maintenance, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics. General Ball retired in 1993.