YSU Veterans and ROTC Alumni Reunion Nov. 6 and 7

The annual Youngstown State University Veterans and ROTC Alumni Reunion will be Friday and Saturday, Nov. 6 and 7 on campus. The event features a reception and reunion dinner on Friday, Nov. 6, in the atrium of Williamson Hall. The reception is at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. and a program. The keynote speaker is Lt. Col. George L Hammar IV, US Army, a 1995 YSU graduate with bachelor’s degree in History. A reunion picnic is set for noon Saturday, Nov. 7, at the Veterans Resource Center on Wick Avenue, followed by the YSU vs. Missouri State football game at 2 p.m. in Stambaugh Stadium. Cost for the dinner is $40 per person. The cost for the picnic is $10 per person. Reservations are due by Friday, Oct. 30. Register online. For more information, contact Heather Belgin at 330-941-1591 or habelgin@ysu.edu. Hammar holds a master's degree in Military Studies, Land Warfare, International Perspective with honors from the American Military University. He is the recipient of the Bronze Star Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters, Army Commendation Medal with three oak leave clusters, Army Commendation medal with V Device for valor in combat, Army Achievement Medal with one silver oak leaf and two bronze oak leaf cluster, Combat Action Badge and Parachutist Badge. He also is a recipient of the Field Artillery’s Honorable Order of St Barbara and the National Infantry Association’s Order of Maurice, Legionnaire medals. A native of Youngstown, Hammar entered the Army in 1989 at the age of 17 as an enlisted soldier and in 1990 deployed in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, serving with the 475th Quartermaster Group (Petroleum Supply) as a radio communication specialist. While enlisted he also served with the 402d Quartermaster Battalion (Petroleum Supply) and the 4th Squadron, 107th Armored Cavalry Regiment (Ohio National Guard). He graduated from YSU in 1995 and earned an ROTC commission in the Field Artillery followed by attendance at the Field Artillery Officer's Basic Course. From 1996 to1999, Hammar was assigned to the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood, Texas, serving as a Platoon Leader and later as a Battery Executive Officer in Alpha Battery, 26th Field Artillery. Next, he was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery where he served as a Company Fire Support Officer in 2d Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment and as 2d Brigade’s Assistant Brigade Fire Support Officer. Following the Field Artillery Officer’s Advance Course he was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 321st Field Artillery Regiment, 18th Field Artillery Brigade (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, NC. From 1999 to 2003 he served as the Battalion Operations Officer and later commanded Battery B, 3rd Battalion, 321st Field Artillery Regiment. Hammar was then assigned to Germany from 2003 to 2006, initially as the Public Affairs Officer for the 66th Military Intelligence Group in Darmstadt, Germany, later as a Fire Support Observer Controller and finally as the Senior Fire Support Analyst at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany. After completing the Command and General Staff Course in 2007 at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., he deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom with Military Transition Team 0840 serving as the Operations Officer and the Maneuver Combat Advisor to the 33rd Brigade, 8th Iraqi Army Division in Karbala, Iraq. He served in this capacity until redeploying in June of 2008 and being reassigned from Iraq to Fort Carson, CO. In 2008, he was the Battalion S3 and later the Executive Officer for 2d Battalion, 77th Field Artillery, 4th Brigade, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson. He deployed in June of 2009 to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom as the Battalion XO. Following redeployment in June of 2010 he served as the Brigade Deputy Commander for 4th Brigade until 2011. From 2011 to 2012, Hammar was assigned to Third Army at Shaw AFB with duty in Kuwait as the Executive Officer to the Deputy Commanding General. He then served as the 4th Battlefield Coordination Detachment Operations and Plans Officer, deploying to the Combined Air Operations Center in Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar supporting Air Ground operations in Afghanistan and within the Persian Gulf Region. From January 2013 to January 2015, Hammar commanded the Never Broken Battalion, 3d Battalion, 7th Field Artillery, 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks. Hammar and his soldiers partnered with allied nations Field Artillery Units in New Zealand, South Korea and the Philippines. He was selected to attend the U.S. Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pa., in March 2015. Hammar is married to the former Joy Hawley of Dodge City, Kan., and they have two children.