Army JAG returns home in time for Christmas

Published 1:00 am, Wednesday, December 29, 2004

When John Dever was in law school, he didn't picture himself driving through 150-degree desert heat and trading bullets with terrorists.

The Army captain, who returned home Dec. 20 for the first time in two years, is a judge advocate general (JAG) and has been deployed in Bosnia, the Horn of Africa, and most recently Iraq. The Bronze Star recipient saw combat in the desert country and is a nominee for the Purple Heart.

Dever's his parents, six brothers and sisters and assorted in-laws are just happy he returned in time for Christmas.

"He really made our Christmas this year," said Dever's father, John Dever Sr.

The younger Dever, 35, said that when he finished law school in 1996, "the idea of sitting behind a desk and billing a client for every minute of my time was not very appealing to me."

Instead of taking a traditional job as an attorney, Dever decided to join the Army. He said the idea came to him after seeing an Army recruitment ad in a magazine. Dever comes from a long line of military servicemen, including his father, both grandfathers and several uncles.

At first Dever enlisted as a military intelligence soldier, but planned to become a JAG, a military attorney. JAGs deal with all aspects of military law, from running courts-martial to ensuring the legality of military operations. "I knew that would be my ultimate goal," he said.

As a military intelligence soldier, Dever spent time in California learning Korean. After he was accepted to the JAG corps in 2001, he was deployed to Korea for a year.

After Korea, Dever was assigned to the 25th Infantry Division. In 2002, half of the unit's JAGs were to go to Bosnia. Dever requested to be one of them because it gave him a chance to be close to soldiers.

"Any deployment where you get to be with soldiers is a good deployment," he said. "The positive work that these 18-, 19-, 20-year-old soldiers are doing over there is tremendous."

In Bosnia, Dever was on international criminal tribunals for terrorists from the former Yugoslavia and worked to assist with the recovery and identification of remains from mass graves. "That was quite fulfilling," he said "Bosnia was nice because it's been a success story."

Dever returned to the United States in September 2002 and in November was assigned to the combined joint anti-terrorism task force in the Horn of Africa, which includes Yemen, Somalia, Kenya, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Sudan.

In Africa, Dever worked to ensure the legality of U.S. operations designed to prevent terrorism. "It's a potentially dangerous area," he said. "Our job has been to deny (terrorists) safe haven in those countries."

In September 2003, Dever again returned to the United States and was stationed in Washington, D.C. He quickly requested to be transferred to Iraq.

"It was very difficult to be in D.C. and watch all that go on, so I asked to go there," he said. "You know some of your friends are over there, so it's hard to sit in an office and not go over there and help out."

Dever said many soldiers have requested to fight in Iraq. "There are many soldiers around the world who want to join in the fight," he said. "That's why they joined the military."

In Iraq, Dever worked in Baghdad, Fallujah and at the Abu Ghraib prison. He worked to ensure that operations followed international law and the rules of engagement. In Abu Ghraib, he assisted in courts-martial of soldiers who were charged with mistreating prisoners of war.

Courts-martial of the soldiers at Abu Ghraib began before most people had heard of the offenses, Dever said. "A misconception is that the court martials started after the press got a hold of the information," he said. "It was poor leadership that got us there and it's good leadership that insures we never get there again."

Dever encountered small arms fire and explosives several times when traveling in Iraq, especially in Fallujah and outside Abu Ghraib. Still, he said, "The vast majority of Iraq is peaceful. They're very happy we're there."

Dever may receive the Purple Heart, which is given to soldiers injured in combat. One day Dever was the rear gunner of the rear car of a convoy of two sport utility vehicles. The convoy was ambushed and received small arms fire. The magazine of his gun exploded, sending shrapnel into his face. One round hit Dever's chest and was stopped by body armor.

When he was hit, "the first thing that comes to mind is to get your weapon back up and running," he said. "Your training kicks in." None of the other soldiers were injured in the attack.

Dever said he does not know when he will find out if he will get the Purple Heart, "and I don't really care. That's something beyond my control and something you certainly don't chase after, especially after seeing soldiers who sacrificed far more than I," he said. "A lot of soldiers are awarded the Purple Heart posthumously."

Now that Dever is home, he has two weeks to catch up with family before returning to Washington, D.C. "When you come home you like to catch up on what your family's doing," he said.

One of Dever's sisters was married in September, and he just got a chance to look through the wedding photos. On Christmas day his entire family - six siblings, in-laws, nieces and nephews - gathered at the home of Dever's parents in New Milford.

Dever also plans to "go to the movies and watch about four movies in a row."

Dever's father, John Sr., is excited that his son returned in time for Christmas. "Santa Claus' name is not
Kris Kringle
," he said, "it's John Dever."