Lieutenant Colonel Bob Luther

Photo by West Virginia National Guard.

By Samantha Cart

Lieutenant Colonel Bob Luther’s career has been defined by his radical commitment to integrity, hard work and stubbornness in the face of obstacles, which started when he enlisted in the West Virginia National Guard (WVNG) in 1994 during his senior year at Barboursville High School.

“I knew exactly which unit I wanted to join—2nd Battalion, 19th Special Forces,” he says. “When I was growing up, the unit’s drop zone was located just a mile from our house. My mom and dad would pull onto the shoulder of Route 2 to watch them parachute from helicopters into the fields between the road and the Ohio River just above Greenbottom, WV.”

After completing basic training, Luther attended the military paralegal and airborne schools in 1995. During this time, he was studying at Marshall University and serving part time in the WVNG.

However, after three semesters, he decided to switch gears and enroll in the U.S. Army Special Forces Qualification Course. After graduating from the course in 1998, he returned to Huntington but found that taking classes at Marshall competed with the many opportunities that came with being a special forces soldier.

“I climbed in the Austrian Alps, deployed to Kosovo and studied German at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA—all as a member of the West Virginia National Guard,” he says.

In between his military duties, Luther sporadically continued working toward his bachelor’s degree at Marshall, graduating in 2003 with majors in international affairs and modern languages. He later graduated from the University of Charleston with an MBA in 2015.

After graduation from Marshall, he accepted a management position at FedEx in Kentucky. Although he enjoyed the fast-paced environment, when Major General James Hoyer, USA, Retired, offered Luther a full-time position with the Guard in 2005, he jumped at the opportunity to move his family back to West Virginia.

“My career took another dramatic turn when I commissioned as an officer in 2007, providing me greater opportunities to lead,” he says. “Since that time, I have held key leadership and staff positions throughout special operations while deploying to Afghanistan, Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and Eastern Europe.”

Over the course of his prestigious career, Luther has been decorated with numerous awards for meritorious service, including the St. Philip Neri Award for contributions to the U.S. Army Special Forces Regiment.

Today, Luther serves as the commander of the 2nd Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group, which has more than 500 assigned soldiers. After 29 years of serve, he is passionate about giving back to the WVNG in the role of mentor.

“The older I become, the more I recognize the impact others have had on my career,” he says. “Proverbs 27:17 says, ‘As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.’ There is no better image of the military culture than this. I am the product of the many who invested their time and energy in me. I never take for granted the incredible opportunity to mentor junior officers. I know by investing in them, they will drive the organization I love to be successful long after I’ve unlaced my boots for the last time.”

Luther’s success has been defined by his tenacity but also by the commitment of his family, including his wife, Rachel, and daughter, Anneliese, and together they live a life of service.

Luther currently serves on the board of directors of the West Virginia Mountain Trail Runners and Friends of the Kanawha Trace and as the vice president of Chapter 68 of the Special Forces Association. His family also faithfully supports the Developmental Therapy Center of Huntington.

While Luther’s adventurous career has taken him around the world, there is nowhere he would rather be than his home among the hills.

“I have had the opportunity to spend significant time in other parts of the country and abroad, but I am grounded in the Mountain State by the combination of family, community and the beauty of its landscape.”