BG Nicholas H. Gist

Brigadier General Nicholas H. Gist serves as the 16th dean of the Academic Board at the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point. Gist holds a Doctor of Philosophy in exercise physiology and a Master of Education in exercise science from the University of Georgia, and a Bachelor of Science from West Point. He is a Professor, USMA, and led the Department of Physical Education for eleven years as its head, holding the historic title “Master of the Sword,” which dates to 1814.

Gist has taught at West Point through two tours in the Department of Physical Education, beginning as an instructor and returning after doctoral study as an Academy Professor and the department’s deputy director. He became head of the department in April 2015 and has served on the Academic Board since. As department head, Gist has chaired the Academy’s Admissions Committee, contributed to Middle States accreditation through the institutional self-study, and chaired faculty search and selection committees for professor positions in departments across the Academy. Gist speaks regularly on the science behind human performance and the development of the hybrid athlete.

Gist’s research examines high-intensity interval training and its application to the physical readiness of Soldiers and cadets. He has authored more than a dozen peer-reviewed journal articles in publications including Sports Medicine, the Journal of Applied Physiology, Pediatrics, Military Medicine, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, and the Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, and his work has been funded by the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine. His meta-analysis on the effects of sprint interval training on aerobic capacity, published in Sports Medicine, remains a widely cited reference in the field, and his study of low-volume, high-intensity calisthenics with Army ROTC cadets in Military Medicine carried that work directly to military populations. He serves as a manuscript reviewer for peer-reviewed journals in exercise science and sports medicine. 

Gist commissioned in 1994 from USMA as an aviation officer and served in a series of aviation leadership assignments at Fort Polk, Louisiana, and with the 2nd Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment in the Republic of Korea, where he later commanded the Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the Army’s only forward-deployed heavy-lift helicopter battalion. Following Intermediate Level Education at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, he returned to Korea as executive officer for both the 602nd Aviation Support Battalion and the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Aviation Regiment, 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.

Gist has deployed to combat three times. In Iraq, he served as deputy chief of the Stability Support Transition Team in Ninewa Province during Operations Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn. In Afghanistan, he served as a division plans officer in Kandahar during Operation Enduring Freedom and returned to Bagram with the 1st Cavalry Division as director of the Commander’s Action Group during Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. He is a Senior Army Aviator and a recipient of the Bronze Star Medal.

Gist is married to the former Dea Marie Newman. They have two children, both West Point graduates: Madeleine, Class of 2021, and Graham, Class of 2024.