The Chief Operating Officer of the companies of the Freeman Holdings Group is Major General Carl F. Ernst, U.S. Army, retired. During his 33 year career, General Ernst served as Commanding General of Fort Benning, as well as The Assistant Commandant of the Infantry School/ Deputy Commanding General of Fort Benning;  Commander, Joint Task Force Somalia; Deputy Chief of Staff for Training, Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), Fort Monroe, Virginia; Assistant Division Commander, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, including Commander, Task Force All American for Hurricane Andrew rescue, relief and recovery operations. He also served as Deputy G3 and OIC of Third Army Forward Command Post for Operation Desert Storm and the Restoration of Kuwait; Commander of the Battle Command Training Program (BCTP) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; Commander of the 2nd Brigade, 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized) at Fort Polk, Louisiana;  Commander, 3rd Battalion (Mechanized), 10th Infantry, 5th Infantry Division; Commander C Company, 3D US Infantry (The Old Guard); and 25^Th Long Range Reconnaissance Company (Vietnam).

General Ernst has extensive conventional and special operations experience including combat tours in Vietnam, Southwest Asia and Somalia as well as substantial involvement in peacekeeping, disaster and humanitarian relief operations in the United States and the Balkans. He is a Combat Infantryman, Ranger and Master Parachutist with two purple hearts and three decorations for valor.