[1][2] Whitson graduated from the Glencliff High School in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1972.

[3] He graduated with a bachelor of science degree from Middle Tennessee State University,[1] where he joined the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program in 1976.

[4] He was the chief of staff of the ROTC Cadet Command for the Eastern region in 2002, when he retired as a colonel.

[4] Whitson is the chairman of the Franklin Battlefield Commission and the Carter House State Historic Site.

[2] Whiston defeated Jeremy Durham in the Republican primary for the Tennessee House of Representatives in August 2016.