Gregory D. Gadson
Gregory Dimitri Gadson is an American actor and motivational speaker; and a retired colonel in the United States Army and former commander of the U.S. Army Fort Belvoir garrison. He is also a bilateral above-the-knee amputee. He served in the U.S. Army for 25 years of active duty as a field artillery officer. He served in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Operation Joint Forge, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Education and military career
Gadson attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, graduating in 1989. He also holds a master's degree in Information systems from Webster University and a master's degree in policy management from Georgetown University. He is a graduate of the Command and General Staff College and the Advanced Field Artillery Officers Course and in 2010, he became an Army War College Fellow at the Institute of World Politics in Washington, D.C.Assignments
- Commander, U.S. Army Garrison, Fort Belvoir, Virginia
- Director, Army Wounded Warrior Program, Alexandria, Virginia
- 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery.
- 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division.
- Battalion fire direction officer for 5th Battalion, 18th Field Artillery, III Corps at Fort Sill.
- Division targeting officer, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 82nd Airborne Division Artillery.
- Battalion adjutant, 3rd Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment.
- Battalion fire support officer, 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment.
- Commander, Battery C, 3rd Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment.
- Commander, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 82nd Airborne Division for the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg.
- Personnel distribution officer and human resources commander, Alexandria, Virginia.
- Battalion operations officer, 2nd Battalion, 11th Field Artillery.
- Operations officer, 25th Infantry Division, executive officer.
- Special assistant to the commanding general, United States Army Pacific at Fort Shafter.
Deployments
- Platoon fire direction officer, firing battery platoon leader
- Chief of operations, Multinational Division North, Bosnia-Herzegovina,, 25th Infantry Division
- 25th Infantry Division Artillery, Forward Operating Base Salerno, Afghanistan
Injury
On the night of May 7, 2007, while returning from a memorial service for two soldiers from his brigade, he lost both his legs and severely injured his right arm to a roadside bomb in Baghdad. He became one of the first military personnel to use a next-generation powered prosthetic knee with technology to make it possible for amputees to walk with confidence and with a more natural gait.Military awards
Gadson is also authorized to wear the Combat Action Badge and the Master Parachutist Badge.