Colonel Phillip K. Gage, is the Chief of Staff of U.S. Army North (Fifth Army), headquartered at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. U.S. Army North is the Theater Army and Army Service Component Command to U.S. Northern Command, the geographic combatant command for North America. U.S. Army North’s mission is Homeland Defense, Defense Support of Civil Authorities and Theater Security Cooperation.
Colonel Gage is a native Texan from Diboll, Texas. He attended Texas A&M University and commissioned in the U.S. Army as a Second Lieutenant of Armor in May 1995. Following his initial officer training at the Armor Officer Basic Course and the Scout Platoon Leader Course, his first assignment was as a platoon leader and later Company Executive Officer in 3d Squadron, 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort Carson, Colorado.
After attending the Maneuver Captains’ Career Course and Combined Arms Services Staff School in 1998, he commanded B Company, 2d Battalion, 72d Armor Regiment, Camp Casey, Korea, until December 2000. Colonel Gage later commanded Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 5th Squadron, 15th Cavalry Regiment, Fort Knox, Kentucky until December 2002. Colonel Gage next served as the Battalion Operations Officer, and later the Battalion Executive Officer of 3d Battalion, 362 Armor (Training Support), at Fort Carson, Colorado until the end of 2004.
In 2005, Colonel Gage served a yearlong tour as an Infantry Battalion Advisor for the Saudi Arabian National Guard, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Immediately following graduation from Command and General Staff College in June 2007, Colonel Gage served as the Chief of Plans and Operations, Headquarters, National Training Center, Fort Irwin, California.
In June 2008, Colonel Gage was assigned the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. He served as the Battalion Operations Officer of 2d Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment and deployed to Maysan Province, Iraq, later serving as the Battalion Executive Officer. From June of 2010, he served as the Brigade Operations Officer and later as the Brigade Executive Officer of 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division and deployed to Mosul, Iraq with the unit.
In January 2013, Colonel Gage assumed command of 1st Squadron, 2d Cavalry Regiment, Vilseck, Germany. In July 2013, the Stryker Infantry Squadron deployed to the Panjwai District of Kandahar Province, Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom 13-14.
Following Squadron command, Colonel Gage served as the G3, Maneuver Center of Excellence, Fort Benning, Georgia. He then deployed to Afghanistan serving with Headquarters, Resolute Support, Afghanistan as the Senior Advisor to the Chief of the General Staff, Afghan National Army, completing his tour in June 2017.
Colonel Gage commanded the U.S. Army Garrison Japan from 2017 to 2019 at Camp Zama, Japan. As commander, he was responsible for 15 sites across Japan supporting the U.S. Army in Japan, and the Soldiers, Families, and Civilians serving throughout the country.
Colonel Gage served as Assistant Chief of Staff, G3/7 from 2019-2022 at US Army North. He was the Joint Force Land Component (JFLCC) J3 during the COVID-19 pandemic response. Colonel Gage executed this critical role in covering down the spectrum of providing a joint, interagency, intergovernmental and multinational response to COVID-19. In addition, supporting the Afghan evacuee mission named Operation Allies Welcome, COVID response operations in hospitals across the nation, and wildland firefighting operations in Northern California in support of several federal, state and local partners.
Colonel Gage holds a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Development from Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas and a Master of Science in Adult Occupational Education from Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas. He is a graduate of the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and holds a Master of Strategic Studies from that institution.
His awards are commensurate with his time in service. He has earned the Parachutist Badge, and the Combat Action Badge.