Dirk was born and raised in Roanoke, Virginia. He graduated from William Fleming High School in 1980, where he played football and ran track. He served in the U.S. Army from 1980-1983, where he served as an infantry soldier with the 101st Airborne (Air Assault) Division.
After leaving the Army, he attended and graduated from Roanoke College in 1987 with a degree in history. He graduated from law school at the University of Richmond in 1990. As a JAG in the U.S. Navy from 1991 through 1994, he served as defense counsel, senior prosecutor, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney.
After two years of private practice (1994-1995) and working part-time as a state prosecutor in Botetourt County, he joined the Commonwealth’s Attorneys Office in Bedford County in 1995 and eventually became the Chief Deputy until he retired in 2008.
As a reservist, Padgett served two tours in the Middle East/Kuwait in 2004-05 and Baghdad/Iraq in 2007-08. He went back on active duty with the Navy in 2008 and was assigned to the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., to assist in the prosecution of war crimes against al Qaeda terrorists that are being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. During that time, he obtained a Master of Laws (LLM) degree in National Security Law from Georgetown University. As team chief and lead prosecutor in the war crimes case involving Ibrahim al Qosi, a bodyguard of Osama bin Laden, he successfully prosecuted the first al Qaeda terrorist under the Obama administration.
Padgett resigned from the military in 2014 to enter into private practice and returned home to the Roanoke Valley.
Dirk is a proud father and enjoys supporting them in their interests and pursuits – be that coaching football, attending art exhibits, or chauffeuring them wherever they need to go.
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