Patricia Gregory was born in 1967 in Raleigh, North Carolina, and grew up in Morrisville, North Carolina. After graduating from high school, she went to Appalachian State University, where she joined the ROTC.

Upon graduation in May of 1990, she received her commission as a second lieutenant. She attended her officer basic course at Fort McClellan, Alabama, including training as a military police officer. Gregory then worked at the National Guard headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina on a part-time weekend basis before moving to full-time work at the public affairs office at the North Carolina National Guard State Headquarters.

In 1991, she began to work for the inspector general before being sent to Honduras as part of a nation-building project called Fuertes Caminos (“strong roads”) in 1992, where she spent six months. While there, even though she was only a second lieutenant, she was assigned the position of provost marshal when the prior one left, a position usually held by a captain or major.

Upon returning to the United States, Gregory returned to National Guard weekend duty status. In 1993, she was sent to Camp Darby in Italy for two weeks. In 1994, she had some negative interactions with her superiors regarding her refusal to sign off on questionable paperwork. Gregory went to inactive status in the National Guard in April of 1995, resigning her commission a year later.