In Depth Look
Education
Major General John Cardwell graduated Magna Cum Laude from Loudon High School in 1980. Cardwell attended the University of Tennessee on an ROTC scholarship where he served as the Cadet Brigade Commander and was selected as a Distinguished Military Graduate. While at UT, Cardwell was awarded the Victor Mansfield Award, and the first ever Colonel Richard Griffin award. At the national level, he was awarded the George Catlett Marshall Reserve Officers Training Corps Award as the top cadet in the program and represented the University of Tennessee at the George C Marshall Award and Leader seminar.
Upon graduation, Cardwell attended Armor officer basic course at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Cardwell was selected as the First Honor Graduate, completing the course with a perfect score. Additionally, Cardwell was awarded the James L. Harris Award for Leadership and Tactical Excellence. Following Armor Officer Basic Course, Cardwell graduated from the US Army Ranger School.
Cardwell holds a degree in Finance and Banking from the University of Tennessee and a Masters of Strategic Studies degree from the United States Army War College. Cardwell is a graduate of the Senior Executive Development program at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina and the Executive Development Program at the Warton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.
Personal Life
John is the son of Jim and Jean Cardwell. He is married to his high school sweetheart, Janet Cardwell and together they raised their children, Emily and Jacob, in the heart of Loudon. John always jumped at the opportunity to coach little league basketball, football or softball and lead a Boy Scout troop for a number of years.
After his own children were grown, he and his wife coached girls
basketball at North Middle School for over a decade. He can often be found at LHS Football games, where his father, Jim Cardwell, coached in the 1950s and where he himself played quarterback. Now he is lovingly called Bapa by his grandchildren, Elyse and Isaac.
Financial Advisor
As a citizen soldier, John worked for 20 years as a financial advisor first with Merrill Lynch and then for United Community Bank - Tennessee. As a financial planner, John provided financial advice for individuals and businesses on retirement, cash flow, benefits, estate and insurance programs.
He also offered his services for free for many Loudon County citizens including to any teacher in Loudon County for retirement planning.
Military Service
After the Armored Basic Course and Ranger School, his active-duty assignments included Germany, Fort Knox, and service with the 82nd Airborne Division during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
In 1994, Cardwell left active duty to join the US Army Reserve where he commanded two battalions and a brigade. He served as director of strategic plans, Emergency Planning Liaison Officer, and Chief of Staff for the 84th Training Command. He was promoted to Brigadier General and served as the Commanding General for the 9th Mission Support Command in Hawaii where he was awarded the Distinguish Service Medal, the Army’s highest peace time award. He followed this up with duty as the Deputy Commanding General for the 75th Training Command. He concluded his 36-year military
career in 2020, as a Major General,
where he served as the special
assistant to the Commander of
US Northern Command and NORAD
at Peterson AF Base overseeing
Joint Reserve operations in support
of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Community Work
Cardwell has always been ingrained within the community as a volunteer. He has been apart of many civic organizations over the years, but most recently was elected Post Commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars in Loudon. One of his long-term projects for this organization is to identify, mark, clean and repair every veteran's gravestone in Loudon County to ensure they are properly recognized on Memorial Day.
Because of his family background in education, John is involved in a feeding program called Weekend Food for Kids through the Loudon County Family Resource Center. This program focuses specifically on feeding hungry school-aged children.
A sought-after speaker on veterans issues and leadership, John has spoken at most Loudon County Schools, civic organizations, University of Tennessee's Haslam School of Business, University of
Tennessee ROTC Hall of Fame, and numerous US territories and countries in the Pacific.
Cardwell also works with three different organizations in support of Tennessee Adopt-a-Highway program to keep our community litter free.
