Colonel Carl M. Abel was commissioned from the Infantry Officer Candidate School 17 June 1943, Class Number 256. During the period from 1943 to 1951 he served in various company and battalion level assignments. In 1951, Colonel Abel transferred from the Infantry Branch to Adjutant Generals Corps and in 1952 he was assigned as Director of Military Personnel and Assistant Adjutant General at Fort Chaffee. Colonel Abel spent the next four years with Personnel Research and Procedures Division, the Adjutant Generals Office, Washington, D.C. In 1957, he was assigned to Headquarters, Southern European Task Force, as Secretary of the General Staff in Italy. In 1960 he assumed the duties of Chief of Personnel Actions, AG Career Branch and later as Deputy Chief of the AG Career Branch in Washington, D.C. | Colonel Abel served as Deputy Adjutant General for the Mil Asst Command in Vietnam. Upon his return in 1967, he served as Chief of Administrative Services, Headquarters, Third United States Army, Fort McPherson, Georgia. He also served as Adjutant General for the Headquarters, Fort Amador, Canal Zone. In 1972, he became Adjutant General for Headquarters, Third U.S. Army, Fort McPherson, Georgia, the post from which he retired from on 31 July 1973. | Colonel Abel's awards and decorations include CIB, Silver Star, Legion of Merit with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters, Bronze Star with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters and V Device, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters.