Greg was born and raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. After graduating high school in 1985 he enlisted in the North Carolina Army National Guard and attended Basic and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Jackson, SC to become a unit supply specialist.   

While attending Appalachian State University he received an ROTC scholarship and was commissioned in the Army in 1989. Immediately following the Armor Officer Basic course, he was stationed in Germany as a tank platoon leader with 2/66 AR, 2AD (FWD) during the fall of the Berlin Wall and collapse of the Soviet Union.  

During his service in the Army, Greg deployed to or was stationed in more than 21 different countries, to include combat tours during Desert Shield/Storm, Afghanistan and Iraq. He retired after 27 years of service as the Senior SOCOM Representative to the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC.