Mike Diederich, Jr. to Deploy to Afghanistan

2007 and 2011 Democratic candidate for County Legislature (District-1) Mike Diederich, Jr., an Army reservist, is being ordered onto active duty, for military service in Afghanistan.  Lt. Col. Diederich is an Army lawyer and member of the “Judge Advocate General Corps.”  As a “JAG” officer, is the Command Judge Advocate of the 655 Regional Support Group, which has headquarters near Springfield, MA, and subordinate units throughout New England.

Diederich, an Iraq veteran, says he looks forward to serving our nation in the country where the 9/11 attack was formulated. “Our military defeated Osama bin Laden, but there is still much to do before we end our mission in Afghanistan. I hope to play a valuable part in this, as there are many important roles for JAG attorneys.”

In preparing for his upcoming military deployment, Diederich performed duties this past summer at Ft. Hunter Liggett, in a field military exercise, and also attended a week long “Rule of Law” course at the Army JAG School located at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. He also attended legal programs at the Marine Corps University in Quantico in August, and at the Naval Justice School in Newport in September. He had his regular Army reserve duties providing a broad range of legal support to his unit, the 655 RSG, its commander, subordinate commanders and soldiers.

Diederich said he did not want his possible military service in Afghanistan to become a political or campaign issue, nor did he want his family to prematurely worry, thus, he has kept quiet about his possible mobilization. He makes this announcement now, as it appears likely he will deploy. His future training schedule includes Ft. Devens, MA, the Pentagon, Ft. Dix, NJ, and Ft. Hood, TX, before departing for Afghanistan in March 2012.