A 1984 graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Brigadier General Hildner began his career as an Armor officer with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort Bliss, Texas. He was reassigned in 1988 to the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment in the Federal Republic of Germany. He served as the regimental training officer and subsequently commanded a ground cavalry troop. During his company command, , Brigadier General Hildner’s troop deployed with the regiment as part of the U.S. VII Corps’ attack into Kuwait and Iraq during Operation Desert Storm, as well as conducting the last U.S. patrol along the East-West German border before its reunification.

Following his transition to the Quartermaster Corps and attendance at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in 1997, Brigadier General Hildner served in a variety of staff positions to include battalion executive officer of the 296th Forward Support Battalion, Supply and Services chief for I Corps Logistics at Fort Lewis, Wash., and logistician for Joint Task Force 6, a Department of Defense’s counterdrug task force.

In 2003, Brigadier General Hildner assumed command of the 13th Corps Support Command’s Special Troops Battalion at Fort Hood. During nearly three years in command, the battalion conducted two operational deployments. The first came in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as a combat sustainment support battalion, providing general logistical support to units located around Joint Base Balad, as well as the Abu Gharib prison complex. The battalion’s second deployment came in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, as Logistical Task Force Lone Star, providing both military and humanitarian support operations.

Brigadier General Hildner’s other significant assignments include:  Commander, 13 Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), Commander, 23^rd Quartermaster Brigade, Combined Arms Support Command’s director of training and doctrine,  2^nd Armored Division Comptroller, Aide-de-camp to the Commanding General (2^nd Armored Division), G4 Supply & Services Chief for I Corps, and J4 for Joint Task Force Six (Counterdrug).

Brigadier General Hildner’s awards include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star with 2 oak leaf clusters, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Army Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters, U.S. Army Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Valorous Unit Award, National Defense Service Medal with bronze service star, Southwest Asia Medal with 2 bronze stars, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War of Terrorism Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, the Combat Action Badge and the Parachutist Badge.