Second Artillery Corps
Gao entered the Second Artillery Command College in 1985, and graduated with a master's degree in engineering. Reportedly a battalion commander of the 815th Brigade, of what was, at that time, the PLA's Second Artillery Corps. This unit was reportedly involved in the firing of DF-15 ballistic missiles in the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis and would become this unit's commander in 1997. He then rose through the ranks of the Second Artillery Corps, becoming deputy chief of staff of what was then Base 52 (now Base 61 of the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force) in 2001, chief of staff of Base 52 in 2007 and overall commander in 2009, eventually becoming chief of staff of the Second Artillery Corps in December 2011. In 2012, he was elected an alternate member of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (2012–2017). He was made a lieutenant general ("zhong jiang") in July 2013.