Col. Gregory D. Gadson assumed command June 25, 2012, of Fort Belvoir,
Va., a 47,000-strong garrison in its 100th year of service. Gadson
graduated from West Point in 1989 and holds Masters Degrees in
Information Systems and Policy Management from Webster 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.
Gadson, was returning from a memorial service in Baghdad for two
Soldiers from his brigade on May 7, 2007, when his vehicle was hit by
an improvised explosive device. He lost both legs above the knee and
suffered a severe injury to his right arm.
He became one of the first Soldiers fitted with a next-generation
powered prosthetic knee. It allows amputees to walk with a more natural
gait. Rather than taking a medical retirement, Gadson requested to stay
on active duty. Gadson returned to active duty to serve almost two
years as director of the Army Wounded Warrior program before being
selected to command Fort Belvoir.