Joel Carter has been a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2562 since 2018, and has lived in Kensington, MD since 2009. Joel was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and lived most of his life in the New England area. He currently works for the Department of Defense as a federal civilian and has been since 2009, including two deployments to Afghanistan. 

Joel graduated from the George Washington University, Elliott school in 2010, with a MA in Security Policy Studies. He graduated from East Carolina University in 2007 with a BA in Political Science. Joel served three years (2000-2003) in the 1/505 Parachute Infantry Regiment with the 82nd Airborne, which included his first deployment to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. 

Joel is married with three children. He and his wife demonstrate exceptional parenting skills and are raising their children as avid Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins, and Celtics fans.