Colonel Joseph Hughes was commissioned an Infantry Officer upon graduation from Officer Candidate School Class 1-66, 28 May 1966. His first duty assignment was as Mortar Platoon Leader, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1-119th Infantry, 1st Brigade, 30th Infantry Division (Mechanized), Farmville, North Carolina. | His subsequent duty assignments include: Mortar Platoon Leader, Headquarters and Headquarters Company 1/119th Infantry, 30th Division Maneuver, Farmville, North Carolina; Rifle Platoon Leader, Company A, 1/119th Infantry, 30th Division (M), Wilson, North Carolina; Company Commander, Company C, 1/120th Infantry, 30th Division (M), Smithfield, North Carolina; Training Officer, North Carolina Military Academy (OCS), Fort Bragg, North Carolina; S-1, Troop Command Headquarter State Area Command, Raleigh, North Carolina; Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff For Operations and Plans, Headquarters State Area Command Office of the Adjutant General, Raleigh, North Carolina; Assistant State Maintenance Officer, Headquarters STARC Office of the Adjutant General, Raleigh, North Carolina; Commander, Mobilization and Training Equipment Site, Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Project Officer, Office of Secretary of Defense Reserve Component, Washington, D.C.; Director of Logistics North Carolina Army National Guard, Headquarters State Area Command office of the Adjutant General, Raleigh, North Carolina.