{"id":141758,"date":"2024-04-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=141758"},"modified":"2024-04-02T05:36:40","modified_gmt":"2024-04-02T05:36:40","slug":"country-music-singer-and-army-reserve-soldier-craig-morgan-performs-at-opening-day-for-chicago-white-sox","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=141758","title":{"rendered":"Country music singer and Army Reserve Soldier Craig Morgan performs at opening day for Chicago White Sox"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Country music star, Craig Morgan, performs the National Anthem at the Chicago White Sox opening day game versus the Detroit Tigers on March 28, 2024 at Guaranteed Rate Field. Morgan was honored, there, as the Hero of the Game. Morgan re-enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2023. The veteran Soldier, who served in Operation Just Cause in Panama, currently serves as an Army Reserve Assistant Bandmaster for the 313th Army Band, based in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama.<\/p>\n

(U.S. Army Reserve photo by Staff Sgt. David Lietz)
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\n Country music star and Army Reserve Warrant Officer Craig Morgan Greer is cheered by baseball fans as the \u2018Hero of the Game\u2019 during the Chicago White Sox home opener versus the Detroit Tigers at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago on March 28, 2024. Morgan first joined the Army in 1985. Morgan is a combat veteran who served in Operation Just Cause, in Panama, and served with the 82nd Airborne Division, 101st Airborne Division and the 3rd Ranger Battalion, 75th Regiment. He re-enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2023.<\/p>\n

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CHICAGO – Warrant Officer Craig Morgan Greer, a combat veteran who served in some of the Army\u2019s most elite units, sang the National Anthem at the Chicago White Sox home opener versus the Detroit Tigers at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago on March 28, 2024.<\/p>\n

Greer, a country music star known for songs like \u2018That\u2019s what I love about Sunday\u2019, was also the White Sox\u2019 \u2018Hero of the Game\u2019.<\/p>\n

He re-enlisted in the Army Reserve last year after a 13-year break in service.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m at a place professionally where I can serve again. I saw there was an opportunity to have an impact on Army recruiting. I\u2019m doing it so that people know you can do great things in this country. We should all be willing to make sacrifices for other people,\u201d said Greer. \u201cI\u2019ve been to over 90 countries and I don\u2019t know one that celebrates freedom like America does.\u201d<\/p>\n

Senior military leaders and civilian military officials were at the ballpark to also recognize Greer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been a White Sox fan since I was a kid. One of the big things is seeing Craig Morgan passionate about Army Reserve service,\u201d said Maj. Gen. Matthew Baker, Commanding General, 88th Readiness Division. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty cool the White Sox are recognizing the U.S. Army, and that everyone in the stands respects the U.S. military. We need more people to serve. We need to show the people in our community that we are serving and we are your neighbors. That\u2019s what makes a great nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s more American than being at opening day enjoying a hot dog with the U.S. Army. The U.S. Army has been around longer than the nation,\u201d said Steven Herman, Civilian Aide to Secretary of the Army, Illinois (North). \u201cI think it\u2019s great Craig Morgan wants to serve our nation and the Army in particular. He wants to get the message across that a strong military is important. We need to be strong militarily and economically.\u201d<\/p>\n

Greer originally joined the active Army in 1985 when the Army recruiting message was \u2018Be All You Can Be\u2019. The same marketing message the Army has re-branded today.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to get out of Nashville, Tennessee. I wanted to be part of something bigger. It sounds cheesy but it\u2019s the truth. I know the Army would give me opportunities to experience the world and it did,\u201d Greer said.<\/p>\n

Greer served in some of the most elite units in the U.S. Army which included service as an Army Ranger, a forward observer, and fire support specialist in the 101st Airborne Division, 82nd Airborne Division and 3rd Ranger Battalion, 75th Regiment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went where I was told to go. The 82nd Airborne Division and 101st Airborne Division have a very celebrated history. They are elite groups in the Army and still are. The 82nd can be anywhere in the world in 72 hours,\u201d said Greer.<\/p>\n

The singer completed Ranger training at Fort Moore, Georgia but said jumpmaster training was the most difficult training he ever endured in the Army.<\/p>\n

\u201cJumpmaster school is the toughest school I\u2019ve done. It\u2019s mentally and emotionally draining. The attrition rate is about 70 percent. You\u2019re responsible for the lives of those paratroopers,\u201d said Greer. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot of information to absorb in a short time. It\u2019s the longest three weeks of your life. Any of those special skill sets require a lot of physical energy and the ability to stay strong mentally.\u201d<\/p>\n

Greer graduated from airborne training at Fort Moore, Georgia. He remembered getting his jump wings from retired Master Sgt. Red King and Col. Leonard B. Scott, author of \u2018Charlie Mike\u2019 a book about Vietnam.<\/p>\n

\u201cRed King was a Soldier and the first enlisted man to jump out of an airplane in front of the test platoon,\u201d said Greer.<\/p>\n

According to a Los Angeles Times story dated August 25th, 1988 \u2018Red King was the first enlisted man to jump out of a converted bomber on August 16th, 1940, when the U.S. Army\u2019s embryonic test platoon made its first jump over Lawson Field at Fort Moore, Georgia.\u2019<\/p>\n

Greer is also a combat veteran. He served in Operation Just Cause, the U.S. invasion of Panama which began December 20, 1989, and ended January 31, 1990, to oust dictator Manuel Noriega.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the 1st coup attempt, I was calling in situation reports from a golf course. We were doing missions before Just Cause officially started,\u201d Greer said.<\/p>\n

Two of the 23 U.S. Soldiers killed in Panama were from his battalion.<\/p>\n

Greer sees the same burning passion to serve in young people today.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think young people have a passion and desire for service. The problem is they have been fed bad information and are unsure. They must have a desire to serve and the energy will come. They are going to gain numerous skill sets that they can only gain in the military. And they will establish friendships under circumstances the military puts them in,\u201d said Greer.<\/p>\n

Young people considering a musical career can also find an opportunity to serve in the Army Reserve.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing a musician is an actual job in the military. They are some of the most highly qualified musicians I\u2019ve ever met. You must audition for the Army Band,\u201d said Greer, who is the Associate Bandmaster of the 313th Army Band at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, for his Army Reserve job. \u201cThere are multiple Army Reserve bands.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1 \/ 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption \u2013 Country music star, Craig Morgan, performs the National Anthem at the Chicago White Sox opening day game versus the Detroit Tigers on March 28, 2024 at Guaranteed Rate Field. Morgan was honored, there, as the Hero of the Game. Morgan re-enlisted in the Army Reserve in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":141760,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-141758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=141758"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141758\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":141763,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141758\/revisions\/141763"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/141760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=141758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=141758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=141758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}