Joseph Carter

Appointed The Adjutant General, Massachusetts National Guard by Governor Deval Patrick on September 21, 2007 (retired September 24, 2012), Brigadier General Carter oversaw the administration and operation of the Massachusetts Army and Air National Guard, responsible for the readiness, welfare, safety, training, discipline and morale of 8,300 soldiers and airmen, and the administration of a federal budget in excess of $300 million and a state budget in excess of $10 million. Brigadier General Carter entered the Massachusetts Army National Guard in 1974 and during his thirty-eight year military career in the U.S. Army Reserves and Massachusetts Army National Guard, he has served in a number of positions, including Assistant Adjutant General, Commander, Camp Edwards Army National Guard Training Site; J-5 (Strategic Plans & International Affairs); and Division Chief of Intelligence and Security (I & S). Before assuming his duties as The Adjutant General, Brigadier General Carter served as the Chief of Police of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Transit Police Department from 2003 to 2007. As Chief, he had management responsibility for provision of public safety on the Authority’s public transportation network within 175 cities and towns.  During his tenure, the Department successfully met the requirements for national accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). From 1998 to 2003, Brigadier General Carter served as the Chief of Police in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts for nearly five years. During his tenure, he oversaw the transition of the department to a problem-solving oriented policing philosophy, achieved state and national accreditation, and implemented numerous distinguished programs to modernize strategic components of its operation.

Brigadier General Carter began his police career in January 1978 with the Boston Police Department, where he served with distinction for twenty years. His work in civil rights investigations and neighborhood crime watch received national acclaim and served as a national model for other agencies. He retired from the department in 1998 while serving as Superintendent of Police, a rank he held for thirteen years.

From 2006 to 2007, Brigadier General Carter was the president of the 21,000-member International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the world’s largest professional organization of police executives. From 2009 until his retirement in 2012, Brigadier General Carter served as the secretary and member of the executive committee of the Adjutants General Association of the United States (AGAUS), which consists of the fifty-four Adjutants General of the sovereign States, Territories and the District of Columbia. Brigadier General Carter possesses a Master of Arts degree in criminal justice administration from Atlanta University and a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. He is a graduate of the National Security Studies Course at the Maxwell School at Syracuse University where he received certification as National Security Management Fellow. He has received the professional designation of Certified in Homeland Security – awarded Diplomate Status by the American College of Forensic Examiners International, Inc. He also is a life member of the IACP, the Association of the First Corps of Cadets, the Association of the U.S. Army and the NAACP, and has received numerous commendations and honors for professional, military and civic achievement. He is an active board member of numerous non-profit agencies in greater Boston and on Martha’s Vineyard.