Col. Joel Grant enlisted in the Field Artillery of the New Jersey, Army National Guard at age 17. Seven years later, after earning a dual bachelor’s degree in Human Resources and Psychology from Rutgers University, he was commissioned into the Army’s Medical Services Corps (MSC). He served seven years on Active Duty, serving in The Republic of Korea (twice), Germany, Honduras, Iraq, and Washington, DC.
After leaving Active Duty, he spent three years as a drilling reservist. He completed his second company command and was then promoted to serve as a troop commander. During that time, then Maj. Grant completed two Masters’ Degrees; his first in International Management and Human Resources and his second in Social Work. Col. Grant maintains his licensure.
Being selected for the Active Guard Reserve (AGR) Program, his first AGR tour was spent at Army Human Resources Command, Saint Louis. He initially served as a drilling reservist Career Manager. He was selected to serve as the MSC, AGR, Career Manager. He was then selected for the Army-Baylor Master of Health Care Administration program. After completing the didactic phase, he spent a year at Johns-Hopkins as an Administrative Resident. He next served at the Office of the Army Surgeon General, where he spent two years developing Army and DoD health care policy.
In 2014, Maj. Grant transferred to the 807th Medical Command (Deployment Support) located in Salt Lake City, Utah. He served two years as the G-1’s Chief of the Soldier Support Division, during which he also intermittently served the command’s SHARP and Suicide Prevention command leads and on the command’s Operational Command Post (OCP). Seeking a new challenge, he volunteered to transfer to the command’s G-35 (Chief of Plans), coordinating and synchronizing training throughout the world, and served as the CSTX MED “J-3” for the OCP.
Next, Lt. Col. Grant served as the Brigade Deputy Commander of the Western Regional Medical Readiness Command (WEMARSG). Just after arriving in California, Lt. Col. Grant was selected to attend the Naval War College, from which he graduated with his fourth Master’s degree in June of 2019. He currently serves as the Chief of Staff, 807th Medical Command (Deployment Support).