A native of Richmond, Virginia, Brigadier General Gunst graduated and received his commission into the Signal Corps from The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina in 1997. In 2008, he completed the Military Intelligence Captains Career Course and transferred to the Military Intelligence (MI) Corps.
Brigadier General Gunst has served in operational and leadership positions from the platoon through the brigade level including the 52nd Signal Battalion in Stuttgart, Germany; the 3300 Strategic Intelligence Group in Washington, D.C.; U.S. Army Central Command G2 at Shaw Air Force Base, SC; the 505th Intelligence Brigade (Theater) in San Antonio, TX; Commander of the 203D MI BN (TECHINT) at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD; the Defense Intelligence Agency Europe Eurasia Regional Intelligence Center in Washington, D.C.; Commander of the 336th Expeditionary MI Brigade at Ft. Dix, NJ; Commander of the Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Task Force for United States Forces – Afghanistan (USFOR-A); and the Office of the Chief of the Army Reserve G-3/5/7 in Washington, D.C. Prior to serving with the Joint Staff Directorate for Intelligence (J2), COL Gunst served in the Pentagon as a Division Chief in the Headquarters Department of the Army (G-3/5/7) Strategic Operations Directorate.
His operational deployments include Afghanistan and Qatar in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel and Kuwait and Jordan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Brigadier General Gunst’s military education includes the U.S. Army War College Resident Program, National Intelligence University, Command and General Staff College, Harvard Senior Executive Fellows Program, Senior Joint Information Operations Applications Course, George Washington University Senior Managers Course in National Security, Syracuse University National Security Studies Program, National Defense University Reserve Component National Security Course, U.S. Army War College Defense Strategy Course, Defense Acquisition University Program Managers Course, Military Intelligence Captains Career Course, Signal Officer Basic Course, How the Army Runs Course, Reserve Attaché Course, G2X Course, Defense Strategic Debriefer Course, and Joint Network Attack Course.
His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Achievement Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, National Defense Service Medal, Joint Meritorious Unit Citation, Army Service Ribbon, Army Overseas Service Ribbon, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with “M” device, Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal with Bronze Star, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and NATO Afghanistan Medal.
Brigadier General Gunst holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from The Citadel, a Master of Science in Telecommunications Management from the University of Maryland University College, a Master of Science in Strategic Intelligence from National Intelligence University, and a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College where he graduated as a Distinguished Graduate. As a Department of Defense civilian, he serves as a research and development program manager responsible for the prototyping and experimentation of early-stage information warfare technologies.
Brigadier General Gunst and his wife of more than 25 years have a son and daughter and reside in Charleston, SC with their Cocker Spaniel, Otto.