What It Was Like Carrying the Nuclear Football for President Reagan | Ambassador Tom Carter

In this episode of The Cameron Brown Show, I sit down with Ambassador Tom Carter, who has had the honor of serving at the very highest levels of the U.S. government — including the White House, U.S. Senate, and the Departments of Defense (DoD) and State (DoS).

His career began in the U.S. Air Force as an Instructor/Evaluator Pilot, where he commanded numerous priority worldwide airlift and special operations missions. One of his most unique assignments came when he served as Military Aide to President Ronald Reagan — responsible for carrying the infamous Nuclear Football.

After more than 10 years on active duty, Carter became National Security Advisor to Senate Leader Bob Dole and later served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense. He went on to play key roles on the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) and with the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Baghdad, Iraq.

Between tours of federal service, he successfully led two government relations firms for over five years each. During his consulting career, he also flew commercially, and with his continued Air Force Reserve service, he achieved 10,000 flight hours. Carter ultimately retired from the Reserve after 34+ years with the rank of Major General.

In 2017, he was nominated and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the U.S. Representative to the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) with the rank of Ambassador. In this role, he represented the United States on all international aviation issues within the United Nations from 2017 to 2020.

Ambassador Carter is a graduate of both the University of Memphis (BS) and Georgetown University (MA). He is married to Mary Graham, lives in Mt. Pleasant, SC, and continues to serve his community as a member of the Lowcountry Red Cross Board of Directors.