Scotty Smiley

Biography

Scotty Smiley, a Ranger and combat-diver qualified infantryman, was the Army`s first active-duty, blind officer. On April 6, 2005, he lost use of both eyes when a suicide car bomber blew himself up thirty meters in front of Scotty`s Stryker vehicle.

Since that day, Scotty has surfed in Hawaii, skied in Vail, skydived, climbed Mount Rainier, completed a triathlon, and graduated from Duke University`s Fuqua School of Business with his MBA. The Army Times named Scotty its Soldier of the Year in 2007 and in 2008 he won an ESPY as the world`s Best Outdoor Athlete. Scotty, a recipient of the Bronze Star and Purple Heart, recently taught the core course in leadership at West Point and now commands the Warrior Transition Unit at West Point`s Keller Army Medical Center caring for soldiers across the New York area. Captain Smiley was recently named a recipient of the Army`s prestigious MacArthur Leadership Award and currently holds an honorary PhD from Mount Stain Mary College in Newburgh, NY. He is the author of the newly released book Hope Unseen. He has appeared on CBS, Fox News, CNN and several radio stations in NYC.

Scotty and his wife Tiffany are both from Pasco, Washington where Scotty captained the Pasco High School Bulldogs to a Class 4A State Football Championship.

Publications

Hope Unseen

Blindness became Captain Scotty Smiley`s journey of supreme testing. As he lay helpless in the hospital, he resented the theft of his dreams -- becoming a CEO, a Delta Force operator, or a four-star general. With his wife Tiffany`s love and the support of his family and friends, Scotty`s response became God`s transforming moment. The injury only intensified his indomitable spirit. Since the moment he jumped out of a hospital bed and forced his way through nurses and cords to take a simple shower, Captain Scotty Smiley has climbed Mount Rainier, won an ESPY as Best Outdoor Athlete, surfed, skydived, become a father, earned an MBA from Duke, taught leadership at West Point, commanded an army company, and won the MacArthur Leadership Award. Scotty and Tiffany Smiley have lived out a faith so real that it will inspire you to question your own doubts, push you to serve something bigger than yourself, and encourage you to cling to a Hope Unseen.