{"id":453555,"date":"2025-05-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=453555"},"modified":"2025-05-21T11:20:17","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T11:20:17","slug":"usag-benelux-spotlight-craig-gronlund","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=453555","title":{"rendered":"USAG Benelux Spotlight: Craig Gronlund"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Benelux employee Craig Gronlund, a contracting officer representative at Army Prepositioned Stock-2 (APS-2) Zutendaal, builds bonds with the Belgian community through his work for U.S. Army garrison Benelux and passion for riding motorcycles. Gronlund\u2019s first motorcycle was an abandoned Kawasaki dirt bike he got for free and restored when he was 16 years old. (U.S. Army photo by Richard Komurek)
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[Editor\u2019s Note: In this series, we are shining a light on our workforce in and around the Benelux. This Spotlight is on Craig Gronlund, a contracting officer representative at Army Prepositioned Stock-2 (APS-2) Zutendaal, who builds bonds with the Belgian community through his work for U.S. Army garrison Benelux and passion for riding motorcycles.]<\/em><\/p>\n

ZUTENDAAL, Belgium \u2013 When it comes to garrison operations at Zutendaal, everyone knows contracting officer Craig Gronlund as the go-to-guy for a wide range of site support such as operating forklifts, the control of building keys, placement and tracking of all facility repair work orders and the purchasing of supplies as the site\u2019s primary government purchase card holder.<\/p>\n

But beyond all his additional duties, Gronlund\u2019s primary responsibilities include the managing of service contracts for fire and climate control systems and overhead warehouse doors for the site\u2019s nearly 30 Army prepositioned stock warehouses, as well as service contracts for electric doors at various garrison facilities including the base exchange, commissary and lodging facility at Chi\u00e8vres Air Base.<\/p>\n

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\n Beyond his primary responsibilities as a Benelux contracting officer, Craig Gronlund is Zutendaal\u2019s go-to-guy for a wide range of support such as operating forklifts, the control of building keys, placement and tracking of all facility repair work orders and the purchasing of supplies as the site\u2019s primary government purchase card holder. (U.S. Army photo by Richard Komurek)
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Being at the epicenter of the APS-2 site\u2019s mission gives Gronlund an opportunity to meet people from the local community who provide services and support as contractors. But there\u2019s also another more adventurous way that Gronlund connects with the Benelux community, through his love for motorcycles and rides on the open road.<\/p>\n

Gronlund\u2019s interest in motorcycles began when he was a 16-year-old boy growing up in Duluth, Minnesota. While visiting a friend\u2019s farm, he noticed an abandoned Kawasaki dirt bike that was rusting away with weeds growing through the wheels.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I showed interest in the bike despite its awful condition, my friend\u2019s mother was more than happy to give it away for free just to get rid of it,\u201d said Gronlund with a laugh. So, with the help of a friend and a sledgehammer to unseize a rusted engine piston, Gronlund\u2019s passion for motorcycles was born.<\/p>\n

In 2006, Gronlund got his first road bike, a Honda Shadow VLX 600, and embarked on a 7,000-mile road trip from upstate New York to Wyoming and then back to New York. Travelling with his best friend, the 2-wheeled journey took them along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia and North Carolina to the Ozarks in Arkansas and then further west to Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Colorado before ending at the famous Wyoming landmark of Devil\u2019s Tower. The cross-country adventure also included the “Tail of the Dragon”, an 11-mile stretch of road with 318 curves near Deals Gap, Tennessee that is world famous among motorcycle riders.<\/p>\n

Now in Europe, Gronlund\u2019s road trips may be short in distance but are long in providing culture and history. One example is a recent trip through the Benelux countryside to the Netherlands American Cemetery in the Dutch village of Margraten and Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery in Plombi\u00e8res, Belgium.<\/p>\n

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\n Benelux contracting officer Craig Gronlund takes a selfie during a road trip in the Netherlands. Gronlund spends his weekends making motorcycle trips throughout the Benelux and beyond with other Belgian riders he has befriended in the Zutendaal community. (Photo courtesy of Craig Gronlund)
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\u201cIn Europe we get to see so much and learn about history,\u201d said Gronlund. \u201cAll of the architecture and sites from World War I and World War II \u2026 you\u2019re doing more than just reading about it or seeing it on television, you’re actually experiencing it.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

After being at Zutendaal for more than two years, Gronlund has befriended some local bikers who organize weekend rides together. One recent ride the group made together was for four days along the Moselle River in Germany, where they saw Cochem Castle and visited the famous N\u00fcrburgring racetrack and motorsports complex.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe guys in the group are all Belgians and I’m the only American. Our group doesn\u2019t even have a name, we\u2019re just a bunch of friends that ride every Sunday,\u201d said Gronlund.<\/p>\n

Before arriving to Zutendaal for his job as a contracting officer, Gronlund satisfied his taste for adventure and exploration by traveling to the Arctic and Antarctic as a member of the New York Air National Guard\u2019s 109th Airlift Wing, which provides logstical support for the National Science Foundation\u2019s U.S. Antarctic Program and conducts science support missions to Greenland.<\/p>\n

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\n Craig Gronlund poses for a photo at the South Pole in 2010. Before arriving in Belgium to work as a contracting officer, Gronlund satisfied his taste for adventure and exploration by traveling to the Arctic and Antarctic as a member of the New York Air National Guard\u2019s 109th Airlift Wing. (Photo Courtesy of Craig Gronlund)
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Now in the Benelux, Gronlund has traded trips to the frigid Arctic and Antarctic for more pleasant weather adventures across Europe like an upcoming week-long motorcycle trip through the Pyr\u00e9n\u00e9es Mountains in northern Spain and southern France, where he will practice off-road riding along with a Belgian contractor that he met at Zutendaal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were working together and just talking a bit when we realized that we both have a love for motorcycles,\u201d said Gronlund. \u201cHe actually helped me buy my first bike here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now Gronlund enjoys owning two European motorcycles, a BMW 1100RT for road riding and a KTM 890 Adventure that can be used for both street and off-road riding. With Europe at his doorstep, Gronlund already has another road trip planned for this Fall, a week of riding through glens, moors and mountains of Scotland.<\/p>\n

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\n Gronlund spends his weekends making motorcycle trips throughout the Benelux and beyond with other Belgian riders he has befriended in the Zutendaal community. (Photo courtesy of Craig Gronlund)
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\u201cI love the thrill of being on the road \u2026 the freedom and the openness,\u201d said Gronlund. \u201cYou can’t get that sense of adventure anywhere else without being on a bike.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read past Spotlight articles from the USAG Benelux:<\/em><\/p>\n

USAG Benelux Spotlight: Erica Nowells<\/a><\/p>\n

USAG Benelux Spotlight: Dan O\u2019Riley<\/a><\/p>\n

USAG Benelux Spotlight: Nicolaas de Jager<\/a><\/p>\n

USAG Benelux Spotlight: Cody Butler<\/a><\/p>\n

USAG Benelux Spotlight: Danny Janssen<\/a><\/p>\n

USAG Benelux Spotlight: Sgt. Taylor Smith<\/a><\/p>\n

USAG Benelux Spotlight: Roel Laugs<\/a><\/p>\n

USAG Benelux Spotlight: Chris Bridges<\/a><\/p>\n

USAG Benelux Spotlight: David Pavey<\/a><\/p>\n

USAG Benelux Spotlight: Benoit Versieux<\/a><\/p>\n

USAG Benelux Spotlight: Staff Sgt. Nicholas Cravens<\/a><\/p>\n

USAG Benelux Spotlight: Mark Fricke<\/a><\/p>\n

USAG Benelux Spotlight: Staff Sgt. Nicholas Klein<\/a><\/p>\n

USAG Benelux Spotlight: C\u00e9dric Reygaerts<\/a><\/p>\n

USAG Benelux Spotlight: Jacqueline Sangen<\/a><\/p>\n

USAG Benelux Spotlight: Marilyn Brulez<\/a><\/p>\n

USAG Benelux Spotlight: Alex Rivera<\/a><\/p>\n

USAG Benelux Spotlight: Patrick Fowler<\/a><\/p>\n

USAG Benelux Spotlight: Josh Alo<\/a><\/p>\n

USAG Benelux Spotlight: Nicolas Delmoiti\u00e9<\/a><\/p>\n

USAG Benelux Spotlight: Michel De Clercq<\/a><\/p>\n

USAG Benelux Spotlight: Spc. Shamar Cerant<\/a><\/p>\n

USAG Benelux Spotlight: Jan Grolleman<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Benelux employee Craig Gronlund, a contracting officer representative at Army Prepositioned Stock-2 (APS-2) Zutendaal, builds bonds with the Belgian community through his work for U.S. Army garrison Benelux and passion for riding motorcycles. Gronlund\u2019s first motorcycle was an abandoned Kawasaki dirt bike he got for free and restored when he was 16 years old. (U.S. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":453557,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-453555","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\/453555","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=453555"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453555\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":453563,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453555\/revisions\/453563"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/453557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=453555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=453555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=453555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}