Medical Corps colonel retires at premier CBRNE command after 33 years in uniform

Story by Walter Ham

20th CBRNE Command

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. – A seasoned Medical Service Corps colonel retired from the U.S. Army after more than three decades of serving around the world.

Col. Matthew J. Grieser retired during a widely attended ceremony, April 11, at the 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command Headquarters on Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.

From July 2021 to September 2023, Grieser served as the commander of the 1st Area Medical Laboratory, which is part of the 44th Medical Brigade and 20th CBRNE Command.

Soldiers and Army civilians from the 20th CBRNE Command deploy from 19 bases in 16 states to confront and defeat the world’s most dangerous hazards in support of joint, interagency and multinational operations.

Headquartered on Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, Soldiers from the 1st Area Medical Laboratory deploy as a unit or in task-organized teams to perform surveillance, laboratory testing and health hazard assessments of environmental, occupational, endemic disease and CBRNE threats to support force protection and Weapons of Mass Destruction missions.

Activated in 1942, the 1st Area Medical Laboratory has served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan. Soldiers from 1st AML deployed to help contain the Ebola outbreak in Liberia in 2014 – 2015. The 1st AML was also the first Army unit to deploy to U.S. military installations overseas during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During his time in command of the 1st AML, Grieser helped to forge partnerships with military medical professionals in Germany, South Korea, Romania, Canada, Australia and Poland.

A seasoned combat veteran who started his U.S. Army career as an enlisted infantry Soldier, Grieser served his first assignment at the 2nd Ranger Battalion on Fort Lewis, Washington.

He reenlisted as a Medical Specialist in the Army Reserve while earning his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from University of Idaho where he was the distinguished military graduate.

After being commissioned into the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps, Grieser was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division where he served in multiple assignments.

A native of Mulino, Oregon, Grieser deployed 15 times during his 33 years in uniform. He deployed to Afghanistan four times and Iraq five times. He also served in Haiti, Panama and New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.

Hosted by Col. Michael F. Belenky, the commander of the Fort Liberty, North Carolina-based 44th Medical Brigade, the ceremony was attended by many current and former leaders from the 20th CBRNE Command and 1st Area Medical Laboratory, as well as other leaders from previous commands where Grieser served during his Army career.

Early in their careers, Grieser and Belenky served together at the 82nd Airborne Division. Belenky thanked Grieser for his many years of service to his nation and his dedication to supporting warfighters by providing “good medicine in bad places.”

Grieser said he plans to return home to his wife and children in Rhode Island. He also expressed his enduring gratitude to the many leaders who came to his ceremony and served with him over the past three decades.

“I thank you all for coming to share this moment with me,” said Grieser.