Retired Gen. Hugh Shelton Injured

Retired Army Gen. Henry "Hugh" Shelton, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, suffered a spinal injury over the weekend and is being treated in a military hospital, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.

The general, a tough paratrooper who retired last September as the top U.S. military officer, was in stable condition at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.

"He incurred a spinal injury in a fall at his home on Saturday March 23. He is here pending further evaluation," a hospital spokeswoman said.

She declined to give details of his condition or to comment on a television news report that the 60-year-old general had been treated in an intensive care unit and had limited use of his arms and legs following the fall off a ladder at his home.

Known proudly as a "snake eater" with other members of U.S. special forces trained to slog through swamp and jungle on missions, Shelton was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 1997 to September 2001.He stepped down as chairman Oct. 1, just before the United States went to war in Afghanistan in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Before that he served in the U.S. Army for 34 years as a specialist in airborne strategies and special operation tactics, including service as commander in chief of the U.S. Special Operations Command from 1996-1997.

Among his military awards, he received four Defense Distinguished Service Medals, two Army Distinguished Service Medals, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal for Valor and the Purple Heart.

He served two tours of duty in Vietnam and was assistant division commander of operations for the 101st Airborne Division during the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

Since he left office Gen. Shelton has served as a television news commentator for NBC.