By Elizabeth Lowe
Staff writer

Goodrich – Late on a Tuesday evening, Lt. Col. Jonny Grigorian stopped to see the military alumni board at Goodrich High School.
After a Warren, Mich. tank plant conference, Grigorian and his family took in a nostalgic meal at John’s Pizzeria before heading to the school with his aunt, Brenda Holderbaum, a custodian at Oaktree Elementary.
Arranged chronologically by class year, Grigorian, who hails from the Goodrich High School Class of 1979, was placed second on the military alumni board.
It didn’t escape his attention, he said jokingly, feeling just a little old.
Noticing a special Stryker combat vehicle vest worn by another soldier, Grigorian wondered if two U.S. Army personnel had made each other’s acquaintance.
Grigorian has been on active duty for 18 years, and served in the reserves two years.
After earning his bachelor’s degree at UM-Dearborn and receiving his commission in 1985, he was stationed in Germany, Fort Knox in Kentucky, Fort Carson in Colorado, then taught at the Reserve Office Training Corps Ball State University in Muncie, Ind.for nearly four years.
He was stationed in Seoul, Korea for more than a year, then at Fort Lewis in Washington two years. He advised the National Guard in Green Bay, Wisc. and currently is stationed in Fort Monroe, Va., where he’s chief of the Mounted Maneuver Branch for the Futures Center, part of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command.
He’s worked for the United Nations combined forces command, and was part of the BMP motorized Kuwait company, part of the Kuwaiti Army.
Dealing with the Abrams tank, the Bradley fighting vehicle, the Stryker combat vehicle, and the M113 armored combat vehicle are all in a day’s work for Grigorian.
‘We take it from the current to the future, what the future army will look like.?
At his recent conference, military officials discussed the Future Combat Vehicle, how long the Abrams Tank is expected to remain in military operation, and when it will be phased out of the system.
‘Right now we’re projecting 2050,? he said.
Grigorian’s wife and three sons–Nicholas, 12; Zachary, 10; and Lucas, 6–normally accompany him on assignments. As the father of three sons, it’s become a challenge to live the military life, since he changes jobs nearly every year.
Fortunately, since he began serving, the Internet and standardized phone rates have made it much easier–and cheaper–to stay in touch.
What’s it like to have a career in the military?
‘It’s rewarding, physically and mentally challenging. I can’t say I can complain,? says Grigorian. ‘It’s never dull.?
He adapts day by day, learning to live and accept what his responsibilities are, but it takes dedication to take care of the soldiers and people around him, he says.
There’s a bond that comes together in the military brotherhood, like family sharing the same experiences, the same expectations, the same support system.
Support from the community has been ‘phenomenal?, says Grigorian.
‘Probably the best thing we can do as a nation is support one another.?
There are days when service personnel cherish every thought and prayer their communities can muster.
‘I’ve been cold and wet, tired and exhausted, sweating, drenched, eating cold food, thirsty, dirty,? he said.
‘And I wouldn’t trade it for the world.?