Biography
The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame saluted the thousands of student-athletes who have played football at the nation’s military academies over the years by honoring one representative of each branch as a co-recipient of the 2015 NFF Distinguished American Award.
Having a father with more than 31 years’ service in the U.S. Army, Graham White was destined to follow in his tracks. A Johns Creek, Ga., native, White joined the Georgia Army National Guard at the age of 17 and volunteered for Basic Training and Airborne School under a program called “Split Option.” He completed training during the summer between his junior and senior year at Chattahoochee High School. In his final year at Chattahoochee, White served as the Cougars’ starting wide receiver and punter, garnering First Team All-State honors for punting and the team’s Offensive Player of the Year accolades. He was later inducted into the Chattahoochee Cougar Gridiron Hall of Fame. White went on to be a two-year letterman at punter at Army West Point and holds the school record for career yards per punt (44.1). A 1998 First Team All-Conference USA honoree, he was invited to play in the 1999 Blue-Gray Classic. White ranks second in academy history in single-season punting average (44.7), and ninth in single-season punt yards (2,711, 1999) and career punt yards (4,812). He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy with a B.S. in Military Arts & Sciences in 2000.
After training for a year to be an infantry officer at Fort Benning, Ga., White joined the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C. where he spent a short stint as an assistant operations officer followed by 13 months as an airborne platoon leader. Following this assignment, he returned to Fort Benning where he was in the 3rd Ranger Battalion for two years, and during that time period deployed four times to combat totaling 8 months. White deployed once as a Battle Captain to Afghanistan, two times as a Platoon Leader to Iraq and again to Afghanistan as a Company Executive Officer. In 2004, he completed approximately 8 months of additional training at Fort Benning before his next assignment at Fort Carson, Colo. At Fort Carson, White was an assistant brigade operations officer with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team for 10 months before assuming company command of Baker Company, 1-9 Infantry Regiment. While there, White deployed to Iraq for seven months as the company commander of Baker Company in Ramadi, followed by 3 months in Baghdad as the brigade’s fusion cell director.
After this deployment, he returned stateside and was stationed again with the Ranger Regiment, this time with 2nd Ranger Battalion at Fort Lewis, Wash. White served as the air operations officer for eight months total, including a four month deployment to Afghanistan; assistant operations officer for 15 months total, including a four month deployment to Afghanistan; and company commander of C Company for 22 months total, including a six month deployment to Afghanistan and a four month deployment to Afghanistan. In April of 2011, White left the 2nd Ranger Battalion and was re-assigned to Fort Benning, where he assumed command of the Ranger Reconnaissance Company (RRC). He commanded the RRC for 14 months, including one four month deployment to Afghanistan. Following his command of RRC, White was awarded a Special Operations Fellowship to the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, D.C., where he earned a master’s degree in international public policy in May 2013.
Following a brief period as a special operations liaison in Washington D.C., White left the mainland for Schofield Barracks, Hi. where he spent 18 months as the battalion executive officer for 2-35 Infantry Regiment. He then served as the brigade operations officer for the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, relinquishing that post in October 2015. White is currently in transition to Joint Task Force Bravo in Honduras. He has deployed to combat 10 times, totaling 39 months divided between Iraq and Afghanistan. His numerous awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal for Valor, the Purple Heart, the Ranger Tab, and the Combat Infantryman’s Badge. Major White is a charter member of the Georgia Military Veteran’s Hall of Fame.
“The parallels between football and soldiering are striking,” Maj. White wrote upon learning he would be accepting the 2015 NFF Distinguished American Award. “Football taught me how to deal with stress and how to rise to the occasion (an important play or critical game); the importance of timing (seconds matter); the value of preparation (every rep counts); and the necessity to trust in and play for the man on the left and right (the brotherhood). As a Soldier, these same lessons manifested themselves hundreds of times throughout my career, allowing me to follow, lead, and survive – particularly in combat.”
