Page 12 - mch0418_Magazine

TOP PRIORITY

Hal Greer, Fort Drum’s FMWR director, was
honored among family, friends and colleagues
Feb. 15 at Memorial Park. Greer retired Feb.
28 after 53 years of federal service, 19 of which
he served at Fort Drum.

or the towel racks at the fitness centers.
“Now, we are the only installation
that provides towels at our gyms,” Greer
said. “If you go into the fitness room at
a nice hotel, they have racks of towels.
Don’t our soldiers deserve that? I mean,
they’re defending our nation’s freedoms,
so they deserve first-class service and
attention.”
The Warrior Adventure Quest pro-
gram developed by Gene Spencer at Fort
Drum Outdoor Recreation is an example
of providing activities for soldiers –
ATV riding, snowmobiling, whitewater
rafting, to name a few – that match the
rugged nature of their profession.
Greer considers the operational
tempo between training and deploying
is so high that it becomes even more
critical for FWMR to provide the fun.
He said that because of his experience
serving in Vietnam and having seen the
effects that war had on service members
– separations and divorces, depression
and suicide – he felt better prepared
to anticipate some of the needs of the
current warfighters.
During the Vietnam War, Greer
served as a UH-1D Iroquois helicopter
pilot with the 187th Assault Helicopter
Company, and was based in Tay Ninh,
less than three miles from the Cambo-
dian border. During his final combat
mission in 1968, Greer and his crew
were all injured when their helicopter
was shot down. Everyone survived and
all were medically evacuated out of the
country. In June 2012, the Fort Drum
chapter of the Army Aviation Associa-
tion of America presented Greer with
the Order of Saint Michael award for
his exceptional aviation career.

12 MILITARY CLUB & HOSPITALITY | APRIL 2018