Springfield, IL –
Friends, family and colleagues gathered at the Illinois Military Academy to celebrate the promotion of Gregory Settle to the rank of colonel.
Maj. Gen. Rodney Boyd, Assistant Adjutant General – Army, officiated the ceremony. Boyd congratulated Settle on his promotion and thanked Settle’s family for their support.
“This is a big deal! Very few officers make to full-bird colonel, so congratulations to you, Greg,” said Boyd. “A special thanks to your family. Without your support, Greg couldn’t do what he does, and he couldn’t have made it here without your support and love, thank you.”
With the promotion, Settle was also selected to be the Information Operations Officer (G7) for the Illinois Army National Guard. Settle thanked those there for attending and said he was grateful for the selection to the new position.
“First, Maj. Gen. Boyd, thank you for trusting me with this position, it is an honor,” said Settle. “It means a lot that you all are here, it reminds me I didn’t get here alone. Family is the cornerstone of what makes us, and I wouldn’t be here without all of you.”
Settle’s mother, Beverly Hart and his sons, Jackson and Wesley “pinned” him with his new rank.
Settle enlisted in the Illinois National Guard as a canon crewmember in 1995 with 3rd Battalion, 123rd Field Artillery Regiment based in Mt. Vernon and commissioned in 2001 as a field artillery officer through Southern Illinois University at Carbondale’s Reserve Officer Training Corps. In 2006, he switched from field artillery to infantry and transferred to 2nd Battalion, 130th Infantry Regiment. Throughout his career Settle has held a variety of staff and command assignments including Company Commander for D Co. and Headquarters and Headquarters Co., 2/130 Infantry, Officer in Charge for 2/130 Infantry and Brigade Operations Officer for the 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team. Settle has deployed four times, twice in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003-04, 2004-06), once in support of Operation Enduring Freedom from 2008-09 and finally in support of Operation Inherent Resolve in 2020.