An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News : Article View
NEWS | Jan. 9, 2020

Texas National Guard Soldier turns his life around

By Sgt. Karen Lawshae 1st Armored Division

AFGHANISTAN – Sgt. James Green's path to the U.S. Army could be described as rocky.

He was born in San Angelo, Texas, as a "military brat," the son of an Air Force tech sergeant. During his formative years, his family bounced around various places, including Maryland, Texas, Washington, Hawaii and Japan. His family finally settled in El Paso, Texas, after his father completed his Air Force service.

Green describes his early life as "chaotic and unstable. As soon as I would make a good friend, I'd have to leave."

This is an unfortunate fact of life for many military children. Still, Green had other issues to deal with – the eventual divorce of his parents and some extremely challenging anger issues. His mom thought his anger stemmed from the divorce, but Green says there were other concerns beyond the surface.

"I was angry, and I was diagnosed with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). I had a ton of energy and nowhere to put it," he said. "I was a very destructive child."

Green went through years of medication and therapy, none of which seemed to help. One day he decided to stop taking the drugs out of frustration and found other outlets to deal with his ADHD. Unfortunately, he turned to illegal means to deal with his issues.

Juvenile delinquency followed, with forays into theft, drugs and other illicit behavior. He was arrested for a minor offense, but it was enough to make him want to turn his life around. To find structure, he enlisted in the Texas Army National Guard in 2003 and deployed to Iraq within a year.

During Green's first deployment to Iraq, he gained clarity and focus dealing with difficult circumstances. His combat deployment to Iraq was harsh and violent. He was awarded an Army Commendation Medal with V Device for valor for his actions when his guard tower was attacked by a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) and small arms fire.

In another incident, some Iraqi children were killed by a roadside IED targeted for him and his fellow Soldiers. Green had interacted with the same children the day before during a combat patrol, and the lone surviving child came to the gate of his unit's outpost after the tragedy to tell him what happened.

"It was at that point that all the anger I had been holding on to, all that energy was gone," Green said. "It was a completely reality-shattering moment for me, and everything changed in my life."

Green has deployed two more times to Iraq with the Texas Army National Guard and is currently serving in Afghanistan as a help desk administrator in the communications section.

Green is a proud member of the 1st Armored Division's Mobile Command Post Operational Detachment, known as the 1AD MCP-OD, a relatively new Texas Army National Guard unit that is a company-level element for the 1st Armored Division Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion based at Fort Bliss.

1AD MCP-OD Soldiers work with the division's active-duty Soldiers, providing essential skills during major training exercises and deployments. It is rare for a National Guard Soldier to work so closely with the active component.

"I really enjoy a lot of facets of it," Green said. "We have a lot more reach and a lot more opportunity to do the jobs that we originally signed up to do." Green also enjoys the MCP-OD's frequent opportunities for training missions and overseas deployments.

In addition to his military achievements, Green has educational goals. He holds an associate's degree in information systems and security from Western Technical Institute and aspires to earn bachelor's and master's degrees in cybersecurity and information assurance. He hopes to re-class his military occupational specialty to 35 series, intelligence and work in the Department of Defense. As for his Texas Army National Guard career, Green plans to take full advantage of the unique opportunities afforded by his unit.

"This MCP-OD will keep me until my military retirement," Green said.

 

 

Related Articles
U.S. Soldiers with the Army National Guard speak with D.C. locals while patrolling Metro Center Aug 26, 2025. About 2,000 National Guard members are supporting the D.C. Safe and Beautiful mission providing critical support to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department in ensuring the safety of all who live, work, and visit the District.
Guard Members From Six States, D.C. on Duty in Washington in Support of Local, Fed Authorities
By Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy, | Aug. 29, 2025
WASHINGTON – More than 2,000 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen from six states and the District of Columbia are on duty in Washington as part of Joint Task Force – District of Columbia in support of local and federal...

Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, Maj. Gen. Russel Honore, Task Force Katrina commander, and Brig. Gen. John Basilica, 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team commander, talk to news media during the aftermath of Hurricane Rita on Sep. 29, 2005. Basilica was appointed commander of Task Force Pelican, responsible for coordinating National Guard hurricane response efforts across the State. The task force included tens of thousands of National Guard Soldiers from Louisiana and other states.
Louisiana Guard’s Tiger Brigade Marks 20th Anniversary of Redeployment and Hurricane Response
By Rhett Breerwood, | Aug. 29, 2025
NEW ORLEANS – This fall, the Louisiana National Guard’s 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, known as the Tiger Brigade, commemorates the 20th anniversary of its redeployment from Iraq in September 2005, coinciding with the...

Alaska Air National Guard HH-60G Pave Hawk aviators and Guardian Angels, assigned to the 210th and 212th Rescue Squadrons, respectively, conduct a hoist rescue demonstration while participating in a multi-agency hoist symposium at Bryant Army Airfield on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, July 22, 2025. The symposium, hosted by Alaska Army National Guard aviators assigned to Golf Company, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, included U.S. Coast Guard crews assigned to Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic out of Air Stations Kodiak and Sitka, Alaska Air National Guardsmen with the 176th Wing rescue squadrons, U.S. Army aviators from Fort Wainwright’s 1-52nd General Support Aviation Battalion, Alaska State Troopers, and civilian search and rescue professional volunteers from the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group. The collaborative training drew on the participants’ varied backgrounds, experiences, and practices, to enhance hoist proficiency and collective readiness when conducting life-saving search and rescue missions in Alaska’s vast and austere terrain. (Alaska Army National Guard photo by Alejandro Peña)
Alaska Air Guard Conducts Multiple Hoist Rescues of Stranded Rafters on Kichatna River
By Staff Sgt. Seth LaCount, | Aug. 29, 2025
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Alaska Air National Guard members with the 176th Wing rescued three rafters Aug. 28 after their raft flipped over on the Kichatna River.The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center opened...