Press Release
☷Profiles in Space Commander to contractor the journey to SMDC and the love of a job
U.S. Army ( By Press Release office)
Apr 28,2022
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Then Maj . Andrew Grantham prepares to go on a convoy while deployed to Baghdad , Iraq , with the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force in 2004 . Grantham served for 30 years in the active duty Army and Colorado National Guard and retired as a colonel . He has been a contractor with U . S . Army Space and Missile Defense Command for the last 10 years . ( Courtesy photo by Andrew Grantham/RELEASED ) PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE , Colo . - - Ever wonder who comes up with the training exercises Soldiers carry out in the U . S . Army Space and Missile Defense Command Well wonder no more . It’s guys like Andy Grantham at USASMDC’s G - 37 Exercise Branch that develop scenarios and training objectives for tier - one level exercises . Grantham , in his mid - 50s , has been with the command since 2013 , and in his current position since 2019 . Before coming onboard with the command , he was in the Colorado National Guard , and in the active duty Army before that . Grantham , originally from Oklahoma City , knew he wanted to join the military after an excursion with his mom and dad through Checkpoint Charlie into then East Germany , while he was living as a dependent in West Germany during high school in the early - to - mid - 80s . “It was then and there I knew I wanted to join the Army , ” Grantham said . “Just seeing the state of East Germany , and how they were living compared to the West - I wanted to make sure the U . S . never fell into that sort of realm . ” He commissioned as an intelligence officer into the Army in 1988 , after graduating from Wright State University in Ohio . Upon graduating from the Intelligence Officer Basic Course , Grantham’s first duty station was in Wiesbaden , Germany , where he collected intelligence on the East Germans and Soviets . He witnessed firsthand the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 . The country erupted in jubilation , but just a couple short years later he found himself in Saudi Arabia for Operation Desert Storm . Grantham was a first lieutenant during the brief 1991 war with Iraq , and commanded a detachment of 220 Army and Air Force personnel running intelligence collections on the Iraqi army . “It was an exciting time , ” Grantham said of those first few years of service . “Definitely some of the highlights of my career . ” Another highlight was commanding the Warrior Transition Battalion at Fort Carson , Colorado for three years from 2008 to 2011 . The 900 - plus person battalion , made up of all three components of the Army , ( active duty , National Guard and Reserve ) was responsible for helping Soldiers with post - traumatic stress syndrome , traumatic brain injuries , amputations , terminal illnesses , and many other life - changing situations . Grantham had nurses , doctors , psychologists , and a host of other medical personnel under his command . “Being an intel . officer , and going into that job was very challenging , but also very rewarding , ” Grantham said . “It was a trying time for the Army overall . ” Grantham retired from the military as a colonel after commanding the 89th Troop Command in the COARNG . He finished with 30 years of combined active duty and National Guard service . After coming onboard with USASMDC , Grantham helped develop the Army Space Training Initiative after the command was directed by the Chief of Staff of the Army to train all Soldiers on the effects of space . “We did a big push to train division staffs and subordinate brigade elements on the effects of space and how it supports maneuver units , ” Grantham said . “ If the units lost GPS , how would they maneuver effectively ” Grantham enjoys the “what if” scenario development of exercise planning . If the U . S . had to fight a near - peer in space , what would USASMDC do If theater commanders needed Army space assets forward , how would the command get them there and how long would it take If the U . S . had to call up the National Guard and Reserve space elements , how long would that take , and what equipment would the command need to provide to make them effective downrange "If we were getting degraded through cyber and space attacks , how would we solve those problems , ” Grantham said . “My team allows the staff to think through various problem sets and come up with solutions to them . ” He also likes the travel involved with the job , although there hasn’t been much of that over the last two years with COVID restrictions , but it has picked up recently . He returned from a concept development conference ( CDC ) attended by representatives from the combatant commands . CDCs are used to develop the framework of exercise scenarios , taking into account each of the individual command’s exercise objectives and desired goals . “I will say one thing , ” Grantham said . “Over the last 10 years I have worked here , there have been a lot more requests for space assets on the battlefield to help support the infantryman at the tip of the spear . To bring space to the Soldier on the ground is very exciting . ” Grantham plans on being in the command for an indefinite length of time . He loves his job and says he is always learning something new . “Do I miss the Army , ” Grantham asked himself . “Yeah , but it’s also cool to be a contractor in SMDC . Space is the next area that is crucial to where the U . S . fights its future battles . ” Grantham is currently working toward his fourth master’s degree - a Master of Business Administration in human resource management . He is happily married with three grown kids - all in their 20s . He likes reading , writing and watching movies .
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