Gregory Clark Hipps

I'm so saddened to know you're gone and way to soon. Rest in Peace my friend!

I was proud to call him my friend. After he retired from the Army, he came to work at Fort Leonard Wood installation safety office, and he truly found his place there. He cared deeply about safety and put in the time and effort to learn everything he could—he completed all the classes required to be an Army safety intern, even using his own leave and money to attend OSHA training. When he applied for the intern program, he was accepted, his records were reviewed, and he went straight to work without having to spend the many months 9f training at fort Rucker, like every one else. He worked hard, learned fast, and was really good at what he did. Safety mattered to him because people mattered to him. He was passionate, blunt, and yes, a little sassy at times—but that was Greg. He had high standards and didn’t like seeing things done halfway, especially when someone’s safety was at stake. As a friend, he was loyal, thoughtful, and always checking in. Even if it had been a while, he’d reach out just to ask how you've been. He had a big heart, even when he tried to hide it. I’ll miss him more than I can say.

Knowing and being a friend and comrade to Greg has made me a better person. I wish I could tell y'all of the adventures, many of which were quite humorous, we had while in Germany. He always had my back whenever I was doing something questionable, like charging into a soon to be race riot and breaking it up. He was there helping. Maybe that's where he acquired his penchant for safety...he saw people doing stupid things and tried to help them steer the correct path. Rest well my friend...I'm sure we'll cross paths again.

Wow! I just found out you’re no longer with us. We were roommates in Germany, and practically did everything together. Rest in peace, Hippy.

I had the opportunity to be on the hiring board for Greg Hipps when he applied for a Logistician position as a contactor for Bering Straits, Native Corporation. The position was located on Aberdeen Proving Grounds and the guy was late for his interview. No need to stress because Greg was highly referred and the guys resume was 8 pages long which is about 6 pages too many. Mr. Greg had listed his previous employment and positions dating back to his young Ranger days and precisely detailed all his accumulated levels of education, skill levels, technical training, safety certifications, followed with accomplishments, merit, and his achieved goals as well as missed opportunities. Yes, he spoke to failures but praised people who impacted his employment experiences. After waiting and perusing Gregs paperwork further, it dawned on me that he was very scrupulous and details mattered to him and his resume writing was a sample to it. Details were critical and important to Greg and simply stated, we needed someone who was meticulous and detail oriented to be our Logistician. Note: Most interviews last about 40 minutes but Greg drug that table talk out to 90 minutes, reversing the opportunity to interview the hiring board. This was a sign of Greg’s eager interest, his commitment and dedication to understand the mission and those supporting him. Greg’s selection for the position was a slam dunk and his resume was certainly a living breathing document of pride and appreciation of time shared with many amazing people. Shortly after Greg’s onboarding we learned that his Ranger tendencies “knife-hand” would tend to emerge as a result of safety, and or lack there of it, along with juggling various employee personalities and his angst toward government bureaucracy. That said, in the beginning, Greg and I would battle on these topics and he simply wanted answers, execution and resolve. Now! If now didn’t happen then dust would fly. Eventually, Greg realized that this wasn’t a special ops mission nor a need for the “hand”, but a sensitive logistical challenge where sugar and honey helped more often than rock salt and his soldiers were civilians btw. Greg and I would go on to become good friends and we were pivotal to hiring and shaping a new culture for the logistics team at the Aberdeen Test Center (ATC). As time moved on, I did as well leaving Greg and his team after 1 short year. I remained in close contact with Greg and he would continue to brag and boast about ATC, the women and men there kicking ass in particular the ladies and men within his Property Book section. Greg bragged a lot and was extremely generous and would promote, hire and replace talent on the contract despite any setback it would cost him. He often helping employees with character building, resume writing or those struggling with personal challenges. If you bought into Greg’s ideals, GAS (give a shit) factor then he would be as loyal to you as a Labrador. Lastly, this man was very generous with is time, money and ear and was a good leader of people. I will miss our monthly coffee’s at Dunkin and listening to Greg boast and brag about those thriving at ATC and later listening to he and Dan Lattea take digs at one another over the US Army and the Ranger Way. This guy was impactful! Respectfully, Gill Godwin