He grew up near Boston with four other siblings in an Irish-Catholic household. His parents, hard working and spiritual with education and public service being the main theme of their family's ethos. He has used his time serving his country as a way to grow personally and professionally, and he finds himself now playing an important role in Third Army's Responsible Drawdown in Iraq and Buildup in Afghanistan.
Maj. Gen. Gregg Martin, deputy commanding general, Third Army, applied to each of the service academies after high school. In the end, all but one turned him down for his eyesight. West Point, The United States Military Academy, is where Martin would get his indoctrination into the military and learn about the tradition of the Army and what it takes to be a leader.
After doing well in academics and athletics at West Point, Martin graduated in 1979 and was commissioned into the United States Army as a second lieutenant and branched into the Corps of Engineers.
Initially deployed to Germany during the Cold War, Martin's career grew from platoon leader to company executive officer to company commander.
Martin, who loves to learn, is highly educated with a PhD in Public Policy and Engineering Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He never expected to be a career military man, but enjoyed working with Soldiers so much during his initial commitment to the Army that he decided to stay in and keep on serving while taking it one assignment at a time over the years.
"After every assignment I have had, I take a look at where I am in life. I ask myself, do I enjoy my work, is my relationship with my family there, and is my health good?" said Martin. "If all these questions are answered, 'Yes,' then I continue the path I am on and keep growing in the Army."
Perhaps Martin's most fulfilling task was as a colonel and brigade commander during Operation Iraqi Freedom's initial push in 2003 when he commanded over 13,000 Soldiers as part of V Corps that conducted full spectrum operations across Iraq to include the ground assault from Kuwait to Baghdad in one of the most successful offensives in military history.
Martin, who came to Third Army after being the commanding general at the U.S. Army Maneuver Support Center of Excellence at Fort Leonard Wood, sees the current mission at Third Army as extremely challenging and complex, but one he is proud to be a part of.
"What we are doing here in regards to the Responsible Drawdown in Iraq and the Buildup in Afghanistan is unprecedented in history," said Martin. "I am glad to be here and honored to serve this great command while advancing this critical mission for our nation."
In regards to the Third Army mission, Martin encourages people to anticipate, take the imitative, communicate clearly, build the team and focus on the task at hand.
"Third Army and all we do demonstrates the adaptability and flexibility of our military at a time of war," said Martin. "We need to make sure we learn and grow from our successes and mistakes. If you make on honest error, do an AAR, learn the key lessons, and get better."
Martin has three sons, two of whom are Soldiers; Patrick, a West Point graduate and first lieutenant, is a platoon leader as an Infantry officer, and Phillip, an enlisted specialist as an Army linguist. The other son, Conor, is a college student in Chicago.
Still, after 31 years of service, Martin strives to achieve a healthy balance in life and lives it by the Five F's; Faith, family, fitness, friends and fun.
"We have to stay strong individually and collectively for the long haul," said Martin. "What we do here in the Army is not a sprint, but more like a long-term combat marathon!"
| Date Taken: | 04.01.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 04.01.2010 10:34 |
| Story ID: | 47534 |
| Location: | KW |
| Web Views: | 267 |
| Downloads: | 175 |
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