Lieutenant Colonel Ward enlisted in the Marine Corps in August 2000. During his enlistment he served at Marine Corps Detachment Fort Leonard Wood Missouri and Headquarters Marine Corps in Arlington, Virginia where he worked for the 32nd and 33rd Commandants of the Marine Corps at the Pentagon and served on the Headquarters Battalion Color Guard. He left active duty in 2004 as a Sergeant.
Lieutenant Colonel Ward commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in August 2007 and returned to active duty in 2009 after completing law school. He was an honor graduate at Officer Candidate School and The Basic School. In 2010 he reported to Camp Pendleton, California where he served as a Civil Law Attorney and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney before reporting to the 1st Marine Division in 2011 to deploy as an Operational Law Attorney in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. While in Afghanistan he was selected to join 1st Battalion, 1st Marines for their 2012 deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Lieutenant Colonel Ward subsequently deployed to Jordan in 2013 with 1st Battalion, 1st Marines in support of the Jordan Operational Deployment Program.
In 2013 Lieutenant Colonel Ward transferred to the Marine Corps Reserves and served as a Civil Affairs Officer with 3rd Civil Affairs Group in Great Lakes, Illinois until 2016. During this period he supported the U.S. Army's 97th Civil Affairs Battalion's Mission Rehearsal Exercise in 2015 and Exercise Key Resolve in Okinawa, Japan in 2016. From 2016 to 2019 Lieutenant Colonel Ward served as a Civil Affairs Planner and Exercise Planner with Force Headquarters Group in New Orleans, Louisiana where he supported Exercise Eager Lion in Jordan in 2017 and Exercise Key Resolve in Okinawa, Japan in 2018.
From 2021 to 2025 Lieutenant Colonel Ward was assigned to 1st Civil Affairs Group in Camp Pendleton, California where he served as a Team Leader, Detachment Commander, and Executive Officer. During this period he provided support to the Marine Corps Special Operations Command RAVEN exercise in 2021, Exercise Super Garuda Shield in Indonesia in 2023 and 2024, Exercise Freedom Shield in South Korea in 2024, and Exercise Balikatan in the Philippines in 2025.
Lieutenant Colonel Ward is a graduate of the Expeditionary Warfare School Distance Education Program, Command and Staff College Distance Education Program, and the Joint and Combined Warfighting School-Hybrid where he received the Commandant's Distinguished Writing Award. He has completed the Marine Advisor Course, Civil Military Operations Planner Course, and the Joint Humanitarian Operations Course and has been designated a Regional Affairs Officer for Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia.
Lieutenant Colonel Ward earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Business with an emphasis in Agricultural Finance from Arkansas State University. He has also earned a law degree (JD), a Master of Laws degree (LL.M.) in Agricultural and Food Law, and a Master of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Arkansas.
Lieutenant Colonel Ward has served as the Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture since 2015 and is also a Reserve Deputy Sheriff in Arkansas.