Joe Bogart

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT JOE BOGART

During the past 31 years, Major Bogart served with many different organizations with many different duties. From Army Private through Major, then on to Executive Director for a National Veteran Service Organization and as a board member for other Nonprofit Organizations. He finished his enlisted time as a Staff Sergeant at Fort Leonard Wood as an Instructor Writer selected as the 2003 Fort Leonard Wood Engineer Noncommissioned Officer Instructor of the Year. In December 2003, Major Bogart graduated Summa Cum Laude from Columbia College with a B.A. in History. Major Bogart was deployed in 2006 to Iraq and was wounded in October of that year by an Improvised Explosive Device while serving as a Platoon Leader in the 5th Engineer Battalion. His wounds caused severe facial fractures and damage, destroyed his right eye and left him legally blind in his left. Initially rendered totally blind, in January 2007, his visual acuity was corrected to 20/60 in his remaining eye, with an approximate 20-degree field of vision, blind spots and the inability to focus on distances other than set by his eyeglasses. He then returned to duty with his unit and qualified with an M9 pistol as a path to continue serving in the Army. In July of 2008, he again deployed to Iraq with the 5th Engineer Battalion serving as a Company Executive Officer and Battalion Targeting Officer. According to the Blinded Veteran’s Association, he is thought to be the first legally blind warrior to deploy to ground combat since the Civil War. He completed the Engineer Captain’s Career Course followed by a successful tour as a Company Commander of C Company 35th Engineer Battalion One Station Unit Training at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. In December of 2015, he received a promotion to Major and graduated on the commandant’s list from the Army’s Command and General Staff College in May 2016. By March of 2017, he completed his Master of Arts degree in Management and Leadership with Webster University graduating with academic honors.