Scott Smiley, United States Army
Major (Retired) Scotty Smiley is an Associate in Capital Markets at Drexel Hamilton.
In 1999, Scotty attended the United States Military Academy in West Point, NY. After graduation, he attended Infantry Officer Basic Course and Ranger School Fort Benning, GA and later received a 45-man Platoon in Fort Lewis, WA.
In 2005, while leading his Platoon in Mosul, Iraq, Scotty was in front of a suicide car bomb. After the explosion, Scotty woke in Walter Reed Army Medical Center, blind for the rest of his life and partially paralyzed. Though questioning faith, Scotty rebuilt his life and continued to serve in the Army.
The Army Times named Scotty its “Soldier of the Year” in 2007, and in 2008 he won an Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly award as the world’s Best Outdoor Athlete. After receiving a Master of Business Administration from Duke University, Scotty taught the core course in leadership at West Point and then commanded the Warrior Transition Unit at West Point’s Keller Army Medical Center. During this time Scotty, authored his best-selling memoir, Hope Unseen. Scotty is a recipient of the Army’s prestigious MacArthur Leadership Award and holds an honorary PhD from Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, NY. In 2010, Scotty received a Father of the Year award in New York and in 2011 received the Christopher Award for all he has given and continues to give.
Since then, Scotty attended the Maneuver Captain Career Course in Fort Benning, GA then moved to Spokane, WA where he retired in 2015 after his work with the Gonzaga University ROTC Department, teaching, training, and mentoring America’s future leaders.
Major (Retired) Smiley has a Bronze Star and Purple Heart; Combat Infantry Badge, Ranger Tab, Airborne Wings, and Combat Diver Qualification Badge.