Alliance graduate earns master's degree from U.S. Army War College
ALLIANCE – Lt. Col. Robert Greiner recently earned a master's degree from the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Greiner, a 1996 graduate of Alliance High, is the son of Frank and Pati Greiner. His military service began with Alliance's "B" Battery, 134th Field Artillery.
"I started my military career at age 17 and it is the only professional job I have ever known. To say that is has been a formative part of my life is an understatement," he said.
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Greiner, 41, received his master of strategic studies on June 10 during a graduation ceremony. He was a distinguished graduate of the program.
Greiner is an Army strategist.
He explained the master's program focused on senior-level military education and preparing students for positions in strategic leadership.
Mount Union discussion
In addition to his degree, Greiner also received an award for excellence for his graduation thesis, "A Foreseeable Finish: Evaluating Afghanistan Through Clausewitz' Secondary Trinity."
Greiner credited a panel discussion on military and security issues in March at the University of Mount Union – which he helping to shape his thesis.
He said he was wrestling with the complexities of the war in Afghanistan and how it ended. He shared his experience at the forum and said it "helped me refine" his theory.
His theory concerned society's "relative lack of agency" in Afghanistan and foreign policy, and its impact on the outcome of the 20-year-old war.
"I was extremely grateful for the opportunity to be sitting in my hometown having a collegial conversation with some deeply interested and informed individuals," Greiner said.
He added: "This gave me confidence that my thesis had both relevance and validity."
Impactful career
Greiner has 20 years of active duty with deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. His most recent assignment was as lead strategist for NATO's Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan.
He also has served as an national security instructor at the Army college, lead planner for irregular warfare at the Pentagon and a policy analyst at the Department of State.
He and his wife, Christine Greiner (Yoder) of Wooster, and their five children reside in Pennsylvania. Greiner will remain on the faculty at the Army college.
"My career," he said, has helped him grow intellectually, personally and professionally; offered perspective on other cultures around the world and confidence in the U.S.
"Our nation – despite the discord and strife we see at home," Greiner said, "is the greatest in the world."
"Not because of our power but because our values; the very values that permit dissention of opinion and public debate. There are people in other nations who crave the freedoms we have - and often take for granted," he added.
Reach Benjamin Duer at 330-580-8567 or ben.duer@cantonrep.com. On Twitter: @bduerREP.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Lt. Col. Robert Greiner earns master's degree from Army college
