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| Slain General in Afghanistan Was Quietly Effective Leader, Known for Technical Skill | Slain General in Afghanistan Was Quietly Effective Leader, Known for Technical Skill |
| (21 days later) | |
| WASHINGTON — To Maj. Gen. Harold J. Greene, video games were simply another tool for soldiers headed to the battlefield, a way to rehearse for combat. | |
| General Greene, 55, was one of the Army’s gadget gurus, an engineer by training whose missions usually did not involve guns and grenades. Instead, his goal was to integrate smartphones, video conferences and even virtual worlds into a military culture that often prized hardware rather than software. | General Greene, 55, was one of the Army’s gadget gurus, an engineer by training whose missions usually did not involve guns and grenades. Instead, his goal was to integrate smartphones, video conferences and even virtual worlds into a military culture that often prized hardware rather than software. |
| It was the sort of technology that General Greene, who was killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday, used in frequent talks with his family back in the United States. | It was the sort of technology that General Greene, who was killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday, used in frequent talks with his family back in the United States. |
| “One of the things he worked on over the years is the type of communications we use now,” his father, Harold F. Greene, said in a telephone interview on Tuesday night from his home in Guilderland, N.Y. “We conversed every week over videophone.” | “One of the things he worked on over the years is the type of communications we use now,” his father, Harold F. Greene, said in a telephone interview on Tuesday night from his home in Guilderland, N.Y. “We conversed every week over videophone.” |
| Mr. Greene, 85, said they had discussed the war in Afghanistan, General Greene’s plans to return to the United States and his next career move. | Mr. Greene, 85, said they had discussed the war in Afghanistan, General Greene’s plans to return to the United States and his next career move. |
| General Greene’s last promotion came earlier this year when he was sent to Afghanistan to help complete the military transition from American to Afghan control as the United States prepared to withdraw. He was advising Afghan military officers on how to buy weaponry, how to staff battalions and how to acquire technology. | General Greene’s last promotion came earlier this year when he was sent to Afghanistan to help complete the military transition from American to Afghan control as the United States prepared to withdraw. He was advising Afghan military officers on how to buy weaponry, how to staff battalions and how to acquire technology. |
| Unlike many high-ranking Army officers, General Greene, who was born in Albany and raised in upstate New York, did not go to West Point. He graduated in 1980 from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he received a full Reserve Officers’ Training Corps scholarship, before receiving his commission as an engineer officer. He went on to earn a master’s degree in national security policy studies at the United States Army War College in Carlisle, Pa., and a Ph.D. in materials science from the University of Southern California. | Unlike many high-ranking Army officers, General Greene, who was born in Albany and raised in upstate New York, did not go to West Point. He graduated in 1980 from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he received a full Reserve Officers’ Training Corps scholarship, before receiving his commission as an engineer officer. He went on to earn a master’s degree in national security policy studies at the United States Army War College in Carlisle, Pa., and a Ph.D. in materials science from the University of Southern California. |
| In more than 30 years in the Army, General Greene had not seen combat before being sent to Afghanistan. Among members of the acquisitions and engineering staff, he was known for his interest not only in technology but also in more mundane matters. | In more than 30 years in the Army, General Greene had not seen combat before being sent to Afghanistan. Among members of the acquisitions and engineering staff, he was known for his interest not only in technology but also in more mundane matters. |
| “If you gave me one thing to fix tomorrow, it would be to rip out those godawful windows and put in state-of-the-art thermal windows and get some light in here,” he said in a 2011 speech as he was leaving his post as senior commander at the Natick Soldier Systems Center in Massachusetts. | “If you gave me one thing to fix tomorrow, it would be to rip out those godawful windows and put in state-of-the-art thermal windows and get some light in here,” he said in a 2011 speech as he was leaving his post as senior commander at the Natick Soldier Systems Center in Massachusetts. |
| His is a military family. General Greene’s wife, Col. Sue Myers, also served in the Army, and his son — he also has a daughter — is an active-duty soldier. And his father served in World War II. | His is a military family. General Greene’s wife, Col. Sue Myers, also served in the Army, and his son — he also has a daughter — is an active-duty soldier. And his father served in World War II. |
| “You’re talking about a guy who did his job, did it well, but not with a lot of noise,” one American military official said of General Greene, speaking anonymously because he was not authorized to talk about the matter. | “You’re talking about a guy who did his job, did it well, but not with a lot of noise,” one American military official said of General Greene, speaking anonymously because he was not authorized to talk about the matter. |
| After working his way through the ranks — including posts in Athens and Istanbul, as well as in Fort Monmouth, N.J. — General Greene was promoted from colonel to brigadier general in 2009. At his promotion ceremony, Lt. Gen. Stephen M. Speakes, the Army’s deputy chief of staff at the time, called General Greene “somebody who has that singular ability to display wisdom” and “the rare abilities to make others better.” | After working his way through the ranks — including posts in Athens and Istanbul, as well as in Fort Monmouth, N.J. — General Greene was promoted from colonel to brigadier general in 2009. At his promotion ceremony, Lt. Gen. Stephen M. Speakes, the Army’s deputy chief of staff at the time, called General Greene “somebody who has that singular ability to display wisdom” and “the rare abilities to make others better.” |
| General Greene’s military evaluations, his father said, praised him for inspiring others to work harder by fostering a collaborative culture that was not always the norm in the military. | General Greene’s military evaluations, his father said, praised him for inspiring others to work harder by fostering a collaborative culture that was not always the norm in the military. |
| “Their input was just as important as his,” Mr. Greene said of how his son worked with soldiers of lower rank. | “Their input was just as important as his,” Mr. Greene said of how his son worked with soldiers of lower rank. |
| General Greene’s collegial style and technical expertise helped him win another promotion in 2011, when he was assigned to be the program executive officer for intelligence, electronic warfare and sensors. He said in an interview after that appointment that improving night-vision devices and infrared technology would be crucial steps in helping soldiers. | General Greene’s collegial style and technical expertise helped him win another promotion in 2011, when he was assigned to be the program executive officer for intelligence, electronic warfare and sensors. He said in an interview after that appointment that improving night-vision devices and infrared technology would be crucial steps in helping soldiers. |
| When General Greene was finally tapped to go to Afghanistan this year, he did not hesitate. | When General Greene was finally tapped to go to Afghanistan this year, he did not hesitate. |
| “He felt it was part of his job,” Mr. Greene said. “He knew that what happened is a potential that goes with the job.” | “He felt it was part of his job,” Mr. Greene said. “He knew that what happened is a potential that goes with the job.” |