NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Michael Hynes served his country with pride and distinction in the Army for 32 years from 1980 to 2012, retiring as a colonel.

 

Born in Syracuse, N.Y., he grew up in North Adams and graduated from Drury High School in 1977. He later earned a bachelor's degree in computer information systems, and masters' in leadership, military operations and national resource strategy.

 

He went to basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. 

 

"It was interesting. We had people from across the nation in our platoon, and my upbringing and education put me in a good spot to compete amongst the men in the platoon," he said. "Because of this I ended up as one of the leaders within the platoon by the end of the training."

 

His first assignment would take him to Fort Huachuca in Arizona for Advanced Individual Training, intelligence training then known as 96 Bravo, then to Fort Meade in Maryland. 

 

"It wasn't your typical assignment as it was more of a garrison, we were more on our own ... it wasn't a typical assignment for an Army recruit," he recalled. 

 

He would then deploy to South Korea.

 

When asked about leadership principles, Hynes offered this: "I've seen some good ones and bad ones, you need to have an understanding of what motivates people and what your mission is — you still have a job to do. You can yell and scream but that gets old after a while. Having a good rapport with your soldiers, no matter what their rank, was always beneficial."

 

He was Fort Bragg in North Carolina, then a first lieutenant in the Signal Corps, when Desert Storm — the invasion of Iraq in 1991 — started. 

 

"I got assigned to a Special Forces Signal Battalion, I ended up getting orders to deploy," he said. "I got assigned the logistics officer within the battalion and deployed to Kuwait. I was in charge of unloading all the planes and setup. It was interesting, fun and anxious. As an S-1 and S-4, I had a tremendous amount of responsibility. I was awarded the bronze star. I never expected it and was very appreciative."

 

Was he ever afraid? "Yes, once. I was in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. I had to get supplies. It was a three-hour drive and went overnight with a pickup truck and driver. The road was fairly busy and we almost got into a major accident. I wasn't in many situations where I was scared — I had work to do." 

 

There was the time he was in Honduras in 1989, then as a second lieutenant.

 

"We were on a mountaintop, outside of the city, providing communications. Below there was a small village where you could go to buy supplies. Our NCO went down and got into a major accident

that knocked his teeth out. We went down to assess the damage and had him immediately medevacked. I saw him back at Fort Bragg with new teeth," he laughed.

 

Thoughts on being an Army veteran?

 

"Couldn't have imagined being in any other profession," he said. "I'm proud of my service and

proud of the legacy of the United States Army."

 

Col. Mike Hynes, thank you for your service to our great country.