FORT SILL, Okla., Oct. 15, 2020 -- When retired Lt. Gen. David Halverson visited Fort Sill Sept. 30, he got to meet his namesake at the Fort Sill Artillery Half Section.
David Halverson met quarterhorse General Halverson at the stables.
“It’s a great honor,” the general said of having a horse named after him. “He’s a beautiful horse, and I’m proud to be part of the tradition and legacy of Fort Sill.”
Halverson, who lives in Arlington, Virginia, said he was in town to attend the Fires Conference, and to be at the Field Artillery Association annual board of directors meeting where he serves as chairman.
The half section names all its horses after former Fort Sill commanding generals, said Gerald Stuck, Half Section chief. General Halverson is 12 years old and came to Fort Sill from Fort Hood, Texas, in July.
General Halverson is a career military horse, Stuck said. The horse had been with Fort Hood’s cavalry unit for six years, and he was named Alamo. Before that, Alamo was with a caisson unit at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, for three years.
Halverson was the commanding general for the Fires Center of Excellence and Fort Sill from 2009-2012. He went on to become the Installation and Management Command commander and retired in 2016 after 37 years in the Army. He is now a chairman and CEO with Cypress International, Inc., a consultancy company that has a long lineage of artillery leaders who ran the business.
Stuck said General Halverson is learning his duties in the half section. In a rehearsal Sept. 30, he was put in a swingarm position, so he did not have a rider on him.
“We’ve also had him in a rehearsal where the ‘Salute Battery’ (2-2nd FA) fired two rounds. He’s a little jumpy at times, but for his first time in harness, he’s doing extremely well,” the chief said.
The tradition of the half section is part of what makes Fort Sill so special, said Halverson. “It’s a constant reminder to Soldiers to always remember your roots, and you’ll be resilient to fight and win.”
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