Colonel Rob Shaw enlisted in the Army and served as a Paratrooper in the 3rd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. Following graduation from the United States Military Academy Preparatory School and West Point in 1999, COL Shaw reported to the 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he served as a Heavy Weapons Platoon Leader, Rifle Platoon Leader, Support Platoon Leader, and the Battalion Logistics Officer.
After a deployment in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM and the Infantry Captains Career Course, COL Shaw served with the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry (SBCT) at Fort Lewis, Washington as an Assistant Operations Officer (AS3) and Rifle Company Commander in Mosul, Iraq during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM (OIF). COL Shaw resumed duties as an AS3 and moved with 1-25 IN (SBCT) from Fort Lewis, WA to Vilseck, Germany, where the unit reflagged as the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment (SBCT). He commanded Company H, 3rd Squadron, 2nd SCR before reporting to the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, where he served as an AS3 and Ranger Company Commander from 2007-2010. COL Shaw deployed multiple times to Iraq as a Joint Task Force Operations Officer, Ground Force Commander, and Joint Task Force Commander with the 2nd Ranger Battalion in support of OIF and Operation NEW DAWN.
As a General Wayne Downing Fellow, COL Shaw earned a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Following graduation, he served as a Joint Special Operations Plans Officer, Operations Officer, and Executive Officer in the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment in Savannah, Georgia from 2012-2014, and he deployed numerous times to Afghanistan as a Joint Task Force Operations Officer in support of Operation FREEDOM’S SENTINEL. From 2014-2017, COL Shaw served as the Aide de Camp to the United States Army’s 38th and 39th Chiefs of Staff.
COL Shaw commanded the 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vicenza, Italy from 2017-2019, and the Regimental Special Troops Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, Georgia from 2019-2021. While a Ranger Battalion Commander, COL Shaw deployed numerous times to Afghanistan as a Joint Task Force Commander in Operation RESOLUTE SUPPORT. Following graduation from the Army War College in June 2022, COL Shaw will assume command of the 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
COL Shaw’s awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit (2), Bronze Star Medal (5), Purple Heart, Combat Infantryman Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, and the Ranger Tab. His military education includes Airborne, Ranger, Jumpmaster, Pathfinder, Military Free Fall Parachutist, Air Assault, and SERE-C. COL Shaw is a graduate of MIT’s Seminar XXI Fellowship. He is married and has two children.
