Scotty Smiley

Major (Retired) Scotty Smiley is from Pasco, Washington. After high school he attended the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. After four great years, he graduated and moved to Fort Benning, Georgia and attended Infantry Officer Basic Course and Ranger School. He quickly moved to Fort Lewis, Washington where he led a 45-man Platoon.

In 2005 while leading his Platoon in Mosul, Iraq, Smiley found himself in front of a suicide car bomb. After the man blew himself up, Smiley woke in Walter Reed Army Medical Center blinded for the rest of his life and partially paralyzed. Though questioning his faith, Smiley made a decision to forgive and rebuild his life and continue to serve in the Army, becoming the first blind active-duty officer in military history.

The Army Times named Smiley “Soldier of the Year” in 2007 and in 2008 he won an ESPY as the world’s Best Outdoor Athlete. After receiving a Master of Business Administration from Duke University, Smiley taught the core course in leadership at West Point and then commanded the Warrior Transition Unit at West Point’s Keller Army Medical Center. Smiley 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, Smiley 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, Smiley has attended the Maneuver Captain Career Course in Fort Benning, Georgia, and moved to Spokane, Washington where he worked with the Gonzaga University ROTC Department, teaching and mentoring America’s future leaders. After 12 years of service, he retired from the military in 2015.

Smiley joined Drexel Hamilton out of New York in 2015 and works with corporations and banks around the world.

With a passion for using his story to build hope in this world, Smiley authored "Hope Unseen" in 2010 and now travels all over the country speaking and sharing his message of perseverance, courage and hope.

Smiley is married to his high school sweetheart, Tiffany and they are the proud parents of Grady Douglas, Graham Elliott, and Baylor Scott.