Military Career

Chief Warrant Officer 3 (Retired) Artie Ford joined the U.S. Army in 1997. He was assigned to the 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas, where he helped various units integrate operations with new weapons systems and technology as part of the Force XXI program. He then deployed as a peacekeeper to Bosnia in 1999 as part of Stabilization Force 6, attached to the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry).

Artie was then assigned to Germany, serving with the Ready First Combat Team, 1st Armored Division in 2003. He deployed to Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004. He provided legal support to all units within the Brigade, including reviewing artillery missions for legal sufficiency and driving to various locations to investigate claims. In 2010, he was selected to become a Warrant Officer. His first Warrant Officer position was as the Legal Administrator of Fort Detrick, MD, where he managed all business aspects of a small law office. He rebuilt the Fort Detrick Courtroom and redesigned the office building to accommodate 4 new attorney positions he helped create.

In 2012, Artie was selected to serve as the operations officer for the prosecution team in the case the United States v. Bradley (Chelsea) Manning. He managed all automation, information security, and evidence review and discovery for the largest national security case the US Army has ever prosecuted. Manning was eventually sentenced to 34 years. In 2014, he was assigned to Fort Benning, GA, where he immediately began a complete redesign of the Fort Benning Courtroom. He eventually secured funding to build a new legal office to bring together all legal services into a modernized environment.

In 2016, he returned to the 10th Mountain, this time as the Senior Legal Administrator. He fulfilled a long-awaited vision for the legal office, moving them from WW2 wooden barracks to a modernized, newly renovated building, again bringing all base legal services under one roof. Artie also led and mentored two junior Warrant Officers and recruited promising legal NCOs to become Warrant Officers. Artie retired from the Army in 2019.