strongspan class="large"Commandant of Cadets, U. S. Military Academy/span/strongbr/ br/span class="large"Brigadier General Philip R. Feir was born in Bemidji, Minnesota on December 20, 1926. He enlisted in the Army in 1944 and took basic training at the Infantry Replacement Center at Camp Maxey, Texas. In 1945 General Feir entered the United States Military Academy at West Point where he majored in military engineering and earned his bachelor of science degree. Upon graduation in June of 1949, he was commissioned a second lieutenant of Infantry./spanbr/ br/ span class="large"General Feir's first overseas assignment was with the 351st Infantry Regiment in Trieste, Italy with duties as platoon leader, company commander, and finally in 1953 as Commandant of the Trieste United States Troops NCO Academy. Following his tour in Italy, General Feir served successively as an ROTC instructor at the University of Wyoming and as an instructor in heavy mortar gunnery at Fort Benning, Georgia. While at Fort Benning, he graduated from the Infantry Officers Advanced Course and also became Airborne and Ranger qualified./spanbr/ br/ span class="large"In 1956 General Feir was assigned to Korea, serving there as an Aide-de-Camp to the Chief of the Provisional Military Assistance Advisory Group, Korea and later as an assistant operations officer (G-3) with the 7th Infantry Division./spanbr/ br/ span class="large"Upon General Feir's return to the United States 1958, he was assigned initially to the G-3 Section of Headquarters, Third Army at Fort McPherson, Georgia and subsequently was enrolled as a graduate student in electrical engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology./spanbr/ br/ span class="large"Following graduation from Georgia Tech, General Feir was assigned to the United States Military Academy as an instructor in the Department of Electricity. While in that department, he ultimately became associate professor and was promoted to the rank of Major./spanbr/ br/ span class="large"In 1964, following graduation from the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, General Feir joined the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. Assigned to Headquarters, 3d Brigade, he served first as adjutant and later as brigade executive officer. Subsequently, when the Tropic Lightning Division deployed to Vietnam, General Feir assumed command of the 2d Battalion, 35th Infantry, and participated in several campaigns in the Central Highlands of Vietnam throughout 1966./spanbr/ br/ span class="large"In 1967, General Feir reported for duty on the Army General Staff in Washington, D.C. and was assigned as a staff officer in the Office of the Chief of Research and Development. During the academic year 1968-69, General Feir was a student at the National War College and remained there following graduation for an additional academic year as a member of the faculty. In 1970 he returned to the Republic of Vietnam as Commander of the 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, serving in that capacity until December 1970, at which time, on inactivation of the 4th Division, he was assigned as the Operations Officer (G-3), I Field Force, Vietnam. On 9 July 1971, General Feir assumed command of the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, held that post for one year, and then, on activation of the Division, was assigned as Assistant Division Commander./spanbr/ br/ span class="large"In September 1972 General Feir became Commandant of Cadets at the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York./span