Wounded National Guard Col. War Veteran Told to "Quit Playing Soldier"

Air Force officer: State bosses told me to ‘quit playing soldier’ 
New York Post
By Isabel Vincent
July 5, 2015

Col. Jack O'Connell Photo: J.C.Rice

A hero US pilot claims his bosses at the New Jersey Turnpike Authority have harassed him for years because they want him to “quit playing soldier” in the Reserves.

Col. Jack O’Connell, 50, who was wounded in Baghdad and flew 30 combat missions during Operation Desert Storm, says the agency denied him leave to attend military training in Nebraska last month, and he fears he’ll be fired.

He is already suing the Authority, alleging it blocked his promotions and raises for years because of his five active-duty tours in Iraq and at Guantanamo Bay.

“When you’re in the military you have an obligation,” O’Connell told The Post. “I get an order, and I go.”

O’Connell, of South Amboy, NJ, began his military career flying Navy F-14 fighter jets off aircraft carriers during the First Gulf War in 1991. He was decorated for valor after flying dozens of strike missions in and around Baghdad.

O’Connell left active duty in 1993 and earned a law degree at Seton Hall. After the Sept. 11 attacks, the newly minted attorney joined the Air National Guard.

He had to leave his job five times to serve his nation, once to oversee legal operations at Guantanamo Bay in 2004-2005. He also worked as legal adviser to Gens. George Casey and David Petraeus in Iraq. His first tour of duty lasted 14 months. He missed nearly six years at his civilian job in total because of the deployments scattered over 13 years.

In 2007, he was wounded in Iraq while running for cover during a rocket attack.
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