Smiley, center, with his wife, Tiffany, and their son, Grady. Outgoing commander Brig. Gen. Gary Cheek, left, joins them.

WEST POINT – Capt. Scott Smiley, a ranger and combat-diver qualified infantryman, Monday took over as company commander of the West Point Warrior Transition Unit.

Smiley, a 2003 graduate of West Point, was the Army’s first active duty, blind officer, having lost his eyesight on April 6, 2005 when a suicide car bomber blew himself up 30 meters in front of Smiley’s Stryker vehicle in Mosul, Iraq.

Smiley said his role at West Point will be to assist soldiers transition back into military life or to civilian life.

“Insuring that they have a job. Insuring that the medical side of the house, they are being taken care of, they actually are recovering, rehabilitating, inspiring them, motivating them; physical fitness is always a part of the military, so insuring that they are getting the proper physical fitness that every soldier should be getting,” he said.

Smiley replaces Capt. Curtis Edwards.

Since his injury, Smiley has surfed in Hawaii, skied in Vail, skydived, climbed Mount Rainier, completed a triathlon, and graduated from Duke University’s Fuqua School of business with his MBA.

He is a recipient of the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.