Cuomo Orders Flags At Half-Staff For Army Maj. Gen. Harold Greene, Albany Native Killed In Afghanistan Attack
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo has ordered flags on state government buildings across New York to be flown at half-staff to honor the general from upstate who was killed in Afghanistan Tuesday.
Cuomo ordered flags to be flown at half-staff on Thursday for 55-year-old Army Maj. Gen. Harold Greene.
The U.S. military said Greene, of Falls Church, Virginia, died Tuesday when a gunman believed to be an Afghan soldier opened fire at a military academy near Kabul.
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Greene was born in Albany and graduated from high school in suburban Guilderland. He was a 1980 graduate of from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in nearby Troy, where he earned degrees in engineering.
"It is with great sadness that we learn of the death of Maj. Gen. Harold J. Greene," Cuomo said in a statement. "On behalf of all New Yorkers, I offer my thoughts and prayers to the friends and family of Major General Greene. We will never forget his sacrifice, and we will honor his service with pride."
Greene was the deputy commanding general, Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan. Trained as an engineer, Greene was involved in preparing Afghan forces for the departure of U.S.-coalition troops at the end of this year.
The attack Tuesday also wounded about 15 U.S. and coalition forces, including a German general and two Afghan generals.
Greene was the highest-ranking American officer killed in combat since 1970. He is survived by his wife, Susan, and their two children, Matthew and Amelia.
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