No Regrets
Metro News
Staff
Martinsburg
Berkeley County Prosecutor Pamela Games-Neely says she has no regrets about how the case of a Virginia National Guardsman turned out.
Billy Alemar, 23, of Martinsburg faced charges of making terroristic threats and wearing body armor in the commission of a felony. He was arrested in August when police caught him jogging in full combat dress and carrying a training rifle near two Martinsburg schools.
Alemar pleaded no contest Wednesday to He to public intoxication and disturbing a school--both misdemeanors.
"We believe the (original) charge was correct at the time we did it. Officers did exactly what they needed to do," said Games-Neely. "However, I was confronted with an individual who had other issues that needed to be dealt with."
The main issue was Alemar suffered from undiagnosed PTSD after his service in Iraq. Games-Neely says immediately they informed defense counsel they had no interest in pursuing the felonies, but simply wanted an acknowledgment he'd done something wrong and to get him into treatment.
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Showing posts with label Virginia Army National Guard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Virginia Army National Guard. Show all posts
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Virginia National Guards Soldiers Death Under Investigation
Va. National Guard soldier from Davenport dies in Iraq
By Lauren King
The Virginian-Pilot
© October 19, 2011
A 44-year-old soldier with a Virginia National Guard squadron based in Portsmouth died in Iraq as a result of non-combat-related injuries.
Staff Sgt. James R. Leep Jr. of Davenport died Monday in Babil Province, a news release from the Virginia National Guard public affairs office said. His death is under investigation.
Leep was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 183rd Cavalry Regiment, 116th Brigade Combat Team. He was assigned to the Gate City-based 1033rd Engineer Company as a combat engineer and construction equipment supervisor. He was reassigned to Troop A as a truck commander for the unit’s convoy security mission and was commander for a convoy escort team.
His unit will hold a memorial service on Thursday in Iraq.
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Saturday, August 7, 2010
Virginia Army National Guardsman awarded Soldier's Medal
Guardsman earns medal for saving lives
Staff and wire reports
Posted : Saturday Aug 7, 2010 10:50:30 EDT
A member of the Virginia Army National Guard has received the Soldier’s Medal for heroism after a boating accident on the Chesapeake Bay off Virginia.
Chief Warrant Officer Clifford Bauman received the Soldier’s Medal on July 24 for saving the lives of three men during the October 2009 incident.
The award is the Army’s highest for noncombat-related actions.
Bauman is serving an active-duty tour with the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command at Fort Monroe, Va.
read more here
Guardsman earns medal for saving lives
Staff and wire reports
Posted : Saturday Aug 7, 2010 10:50:30 EDT
A member of the Virginia Army National Guard has received the Soldier’s Medal for heroism after a boating accident on the Chesapeake Bay off Virginia.
Chief Warrant Officer Clifford Bauman received the Soldier’s Medal on July 24 for saving the lives of three men during the October 2009 incident.
The award is the Army’s highest for noncombat-related actions.
Bauman is serving an active-duty tour with the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command at Fort Monroe, Va.
read more here
Guardsman earns medal for saving lives
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
National Guardsman Struggles to Find a Job
The Penalty for Serving: After Iraq, a National Guardsman Struggles to Find a Job
This article is adapted from Christian Davenport's book, "As You Were: To War and Back With the Black Hawk Battalion of the Virginia National Guard," which is being published June 1 by John Wiley & Sons Inc. (Courtesy John Wiley & Sons Inc.)
Craig Lewis, now a captain in the Army National Guard, found job prospects grim when he returned from Iraq. (Hector Emanuel)
Craig Lewis and Christian Davenport
Captain, Army National Guard; Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 26, 2009; 12:00 PM
Craig Lewis is a helicopter pilot with combat experience and a college degree. So why didn't anyone seem interested in hiring him after he returned from Iraq?
Craig Lewis, a captain in the Army National Guard, was online Tuesday, May 26 to discuss his efforts to find a job and return to life at home after serving in Iraq. Joining him was Christian Davenport, a Washington Post staff writer who covers military affairs and chronicles Lewis's story in his new book, "As You Were: To War and Back With the Black Hawk Battalion of the Virginia National Guard."
Christian Davenport: Greetings,
Welcome to the chat. Craig and I are eager to get to your questions about the piece. But I wanted to first give a little background about how I came to write about Craig and some of his fellow soldiers returning to civilian life after Iraq. I embedded with their unit, the Virginia Army National Guard's 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment, for a couple of weeks at the beginning of 2007, then flew home with them and spent the next year following their reintegration. I wanted to tell this story because the National Guard has played such an important role in this war, and yet has been, I think, overlooked.
Unlike the active duty, which returns home to big bases and are surrounded by fellow service members, the citizen-soldiers of the Guard come almost immediately back to civilian life, where they're expected to pick up where they left off. And as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continue, they face multiple tours and repeat the jarring process of leaving families and civilian jobs again and again. Then there are the domestic emergencies they respond to, such as Hurricane Katrina.
Craig's story obviously focuses on what can happen to reservists' civilian careers, and let's be clear: soldiers aren't the only ones who sacrifice. The deployments create quite a hardship on employers as well, who often have to scramble to fill vacancies on short notice. But there are often other issues that come up, some of which I explored in the book. For example, one of the soldiers I followed was asked, eight days after he got home, if he would return to Iraq with another unit in a few months -- a decision that weighed heavily on him. Another was a Vietnam veteran, who deployed to Iraq at age 58, a time when his wife thought they should be thinking about retirement, not war. Another was a medic who struggled to get treatment for her post traumatic stress disorder.
go here for more
The Penalty for Serving
This article is adapted from Christian Davenport's book, "As You Were: To War and Back With the Black Hawk Battalion of the Virginia National Guard," which is being published June 1 by John Wiley & Sons Inc. (Courtesy John Wiley & Sons Inc.)
Craig Lewis, now a captain in the Army National Guard, found job prospects grim when he returned from Iraq. (Hector Emanuel)
Craig Lewis and Christian Davenport
Captain, Army National Guard; Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 26, 2009; 12:00 PM
Craig Lewis is a helicopter pilot with combat experience and a college degree. So why didn't anyone seem interested in hiring him after he returned from Iraq?
Craig Lewis, a captain in the Army National Guard, was online Tuesday, May 26 to discuss his efforts to find a job and return to life at home after serving in Iraq. Joining him was Christian Davenport, a Washington Post staff writer who covers military affairs and chronicles Lewis's story in his new book, "As You Were: To War and Back With the Black Hawk Battalion of the Virginia National Guard."
Christian Davenport: Greetings,
Welcome to the chat. Craig and I are eager to get to your questions about the piece. But I wanted to first give a little background about how I came to write about Craig and some of his fellow soldiers returning to civilian life after Iraq. I embedded with their unit, the Virginia Army National Guard's 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment, for a couple of weeks at the beginning of 2007, then flew home with them and spent the next year following their reintegration. I wanted to tell this story because the National Guard has played such an important role in this war, and yet has been, I think, overlooked.
Unlike the active duty, which returns home to big bases and are surrounded by fellow service members, the citizen-soldiers of the Guard come almost immediately back to civilian life, where they're expected to pick up where they left off. And as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continue, they face multiple tours and repeat the jarring process of leaving families and civilian jobs again and again. Then there are the domestic emergencies they respond to, such as Hurricane Katrina.
Craig's story obviously focuses on what can happen to reservists' civilian careers, and let's be clear: soldiers aren't the only ones who sacrifice. The deployments create quite a hardship on employers as well, who often have to scramble to fill vacancies on short notice. But there are often other issues that come up, some of which I explored in the book. For example, one of the soldiers I followed was asked, eight days after he got home, if he would return to Iraq with another unit in a few months -- a decision that weighed heavily on him. Another was a Vietnam veteran, who deployed to Iraq at age 58, a time when his wife thought they should be thinking about retirement, not war. Another was a medic who struggled to get treatment for her post traumatic stress disorder.
go here for more
The Penalty for Serving
Monday, November 19, 2007
Virginia Army National Guard soldier found dead at armory
Va. guardsman found dead at armory
The Associated PressPosted : Monday Nov 19, 2007 9:28:34 EST
DANVILLE, Va. — Authorities are investigating after a 21-year-old Virginia National Guardsman found unresponsive at an armory Sunday died.
The cause of death for Pfc. Timothy Arnold, of Blairs, Va., is undetermined.
Authorities say fellow soldiers found Arnold unconscious at the Army National Guard armory in Danville.
He was taken by ambulance to Danville Regional Memorial Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
Arnold was a mechanic with Detachment 1,229th Chemical Company, 329th Regional Support Group, Virginia Army National Guard.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/11/ap_guardsmandeath_071118/
Reminder, do not assume this is another suicide. It could have been from a lot of reasons. The problem is, we are not going to know until the family speaks out. It's up to them.
The Associated PressPosted : Monday Nov 19, 2007 9:28:34 EST
DANVILLE, Va. — Authorities are investigating after a 21-year-old Virginia National Guardsman found unresponsive at an armory Sunday died.
The cause of death for Pfc. Timothy Arnold, of Blairs, Va., is undetermined.
Authorities say fellow soldiers found Arnold unconscious at the Army National Guard armory in Danville.
He was taken by ambulance to Danville Regional Memorial Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
Arnold was a mechanic with Detachment 1,229th Chemical Company, 329th Regional Support Group, Virginia Army National Guard.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/11/ap_guardsmandeath_071118/
Reminder, do not assume this is another suicide. It could have been from a lot of reasons. The problem is, we are not going to know until the family speaks out. It's up to them.
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