Volunteer Stories from Home: Grant West

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced the National Museum of the United States Army to temporarily close its doors, the Museum's volunteers were left anxiously waiting to share the Museum’s hidden stories and why they chose to be part of this historic project.
"Volunteer Stories from Home" is a video series highlighting the Museum's volunteer corps. Each volunteer comes from a different background…has a different connection to the U.S. Army…and has their own story of service to tell. All of them are passionate about the history, lessons, and values we can learn from the American Soldier.
Hosted by The Army Historical Foundation, these video clips are just a glimpse into the lives of the Museum's volunteers, one of the Museum's most valuable assets.
Grant West was born in Norfolk, Virginia in 1954 and raised in Virginia Beach. He went to college at Virginia Tech and received a B.S. degree in Forestry and Wildlife. Unable to get a job in his field, he joined the Army in April 1979. West served in the Signal Corps and Acquisition Corps and his posts included Fort Bragg (North Carolina), Granada, Kirch Gong (Germany), Frankfurt (Germany), Fort Gordon (Georgia), Tong DeShawn (Korea), and Fort Lee (Virginia). While in the Army, he earned his M.S. degree in Acquisition Management from the Florida Institute of Technology.
After retiring from the Army in 1999, he went onto work for the MITRE Corporation supporting the Army G8 in the Pentagon and then another company that supported the Army CIO/G6 in the Pentagon. West was in the Pentagon during 9-11.
West fully retired in 2017. He lives with in Woodbridge with his wife Jolene and has two sons, three granddaughters, and one grandson. He and his wife enjoy spending their summer months at Smith Mountain Lake.