Gregory Dimitri Gadson (born February 19, 1966) is an American actor, motivational speaker, retired

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

and former commander of the U.S. Army

Fort Belvoir Fort Belvoir is a United States Army installation and a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. It was developed on the site of the former Belvoir plantation, seat of the prominent Fairfax family for whom Fai ...

garrison. He is also a bilateral above-the-knee amputee. He served in the U.S. Army for more than 20 years as a field artillery officer and served on active duty for

Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

Operation Joint Forge The Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (SFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Bosnian war. Although SFOR was led by NATO, several non-NATO countries contributed troops. I ...

, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Education and military career

Gadson attended the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York, West Point was identified by General George Washington as the most important strategic position in America during the Ame ...

, graduating in 1989. He also holds a master's degree in information systems from

Webster University Webster University is a private university with its main campus in Webster Groves, Missouri. It has multiple branch locations across the United States and countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa. It offers undergraduate and graduate program ...

and a master's degree in policy management from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

. He is a graduate of the

Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

and the Advanced Field Artillery Officers Course and in 2010, he became an Army War College Fellow at the

Institute of World Politics The Institute of World Politics (IWP) is a private graduate school of national security, intelligence, and international affairs in Washington DC, and Reston, Virginia. Founded in 1990, it offers courses related to intelligence, national sec ...

in Washington, D.C.

Assignments

* Commander, U.S. Army Garrison,

, Virginia * Director,

Army Wounded Warrior Program The Army Wounded Warrior Program (AW2) is the official U.S. Army program that assists and advocates for severely wounded, ill or injured Soldiers, Veterans, and their Families and Caregivers, wherever they are located, regardless of military stat ...

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C. In 2020, the population was 159,467. ...

* 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery. * 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division (

Fort Riley Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in North Central Kansas, on the Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 101,733 acres (41,170 ha) in Ge ...

). * 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 The 82nd Airborne Division Artillery (DIVARTY) is the divisional artillery command for the 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army, stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. It was organized in 1917, during World War I, was inactivated ...

. * Battalion adjutant, 3rd Battalion,

319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment The 319th Field Artillery Regiment, more commonly referred to as the 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment (319th AFAR), is a parent regiment in the U.S. Army Regimental System. Four battalions of the regiment are currently active. The first ...

. * Battalion fire support officer, 1st Battalion,

504th Parachute Infantry Regiment The 504th Infantry Regiment, originally the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (504th PIR), is an airborne forces regiment of the United States Army, part of the 82nd Airborne Division, with a long and distinguished history. The regiment was f ...

. * 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,

. * 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 The United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) is an Army Service Component Command (ASCC) designated by the Secretary of the Army (SECARMY); it may also serve as a Joint Task Force headquarters. It is the army component unit of the United States Ind ...

Fort Shafter Fort Shafter, in Honolulu CDP, Page 4/ref> City and County of Honolulu, Hawai‘i, is the headquarters of the United States Army Pacific, which commands most Army forces in the Asia-Pacific region with the exception of Korea. Geographically, F ...

Deployments

* Platoon fire direction officer, firing battery platoon leader (Desert Shield/Desert Storm) * Chief of operations, Multinational Division North, Bosnia-Herzegovina, (Stabilization Force XI), 25th Infantry Division (Light) * 25th Infantry Division Artillery, Forward Operating Base Salerno, Afghanistan ( Operation Enduring Freedom V)

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 An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mechan ...

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

. 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 The Combat Action Badge (CAB) is a United States military award given to soldiers of the U.S. Army of any rank and who are not members of an infantry or special forces MOS, for being "present and actively engaging or being engaged by the enemy, a ...

and the

Master Parachutist Badge The Parachutist Badge, also commonly referred to as "Jump Wings" is a military badge of the United States Armed Forces. The United States Space Force and United States Coast Guard are the only branches that do not award the Parachutist Badge, bu ...

Civil awards

He won the prestigious

Henry Viscardi Achievement Awards The Henry Viscardi Achievement Awards were established to honor the legacy of the founder of the Viscardi Center, Dr. Henry Viscardi, Jr., a leading disability rights advocate who wore prosthetic limbs. These international Awards, first conferr ...

in 2017 given by

Viscardi center The Viscardi Center is a non-profit organization in Albertson, New York, dedicated to educating, empowering and employing people with disabilities. It was founded in 1952 by Henry Viscardi, Jr., a noted disability activist, who was also advisor to ...

to honour the extraordinary leaders with disabilities.

Athletics

Gadson played football at West Point between 1985 and 1988, wearing the No. 98 jersey. In 2007, he was present when the New York Giants beat the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

FedExField FedExField (originally Jack Kent Cooke Stadium) is an American football stadium located in Summerfield, Maryland, east of Washington, D.C. The stadium is the home of the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). From 2004 u ...

at the invitation of West Point classmate Mike Sullivan, who was then on the coaching staff of the New York Giants. This win was the beginning of a 10-game road winning streak and came after Gadson had made an inspirational speech to the team. The streak culminated in the Giants winning Super Bowl XLII. and in recognition for his contribution, Gadson received a specially minted

Super Bowl ring The Super Bowl ring is an award in the National Football League given to the team members of the winning team of the league's annual championship game, the Super Bowl. Since only one Vince Lombardi Trophy is awarded to the team (ownership) itsel ...

. Gadson has since remained with the team as a motivational speaker.

Acting career

Gadson made his acting debut in '' Battleship'', a 2012 American science fiction naval war film, as Lieutenant Colonel Mick Canales, playing a war veteran who regains his appetite for the fight when Oahu is threatened by an alien attack. Director

Peter Berg Peter Berg (born March 11, 1964) is an American director, producer, writer, and actor. His directorial film works include the black comedy ''Very Bad Things'' (1998), the action comedy ''The Rundown'' (2003), the sports drama '' Friday Night Lig ...

, having seen news articles about Gadson, decided to cast him as an army officer trying to recover from the loss of his legs. 2023 appeared on NCIS Los Angeles series 14 Ep2 Of Value.

Photography

Gadson has been an avid photographer for many years. His work has most recently been featured prominently in ''Coming Home: Journey, Community, Dialog'', a public art project based in New York City that seeks to encourage communication between civilians and those who have served in the US military.

Filmography

* '' Battleship'' (2012) – Lieutenant Colonel Mick Canales * '' The Inspectors'' (2015–2016) – David Cole (10 episodes) * '' NCIS: Los Angeles'' (2022) - Col. Jackson Ladd (1 episode) "A Journal for Jordan" (2021) Uncredited

References

External links

*
West Point Class of 1989
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gadson, Gregory 1966 births Living people American amputees United States Army colonels United States Army personnel of the Iraq War United States Army personnel of the Gulf War United States Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Military Academy alumni People from Chesapeake, Virginia American male film actors 21st-century American male actors Male actors from Virginia Military personnel from Virginia 20th-century American male actors Army Black Knights football players