John A. Wester Jr. Served More Than Four Decades in Uniform and Still Shows Up for Soldiers Every Day

MURRAY, Utah. John A. Wester Jr. retired from the U.S. Army in December 2011, but he never really stepped away from soldiers. Today he spends his time training troops, guiding veterans through the benefits system and leading a chapter of the Special Forces Association. For him, the mission simply changed shape.

His service began in college, with four years in the U.S. Navy Reserve while he studied at the University of Utah. In 1972 he earned a bachelor's degree in business finance and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Over about ten years with the Marines, Mr. Wester rose to captain and took part in some of the defining operations in Southeast Asia at the close of the Vietnam War. He was part of the evacuations of Cambodia and Vietnam and the recovery of the U.S. container ship Mayaguez in May 1975.

In December 1982 he left the Marine Corps and joined Army Special Forces, where he would serve for 28 years. He first served as a captain, then in 1985 resigned his commission to stay on the teams. Three years later, at his commander's invitation, he became one of the first warrant officers on those teams. He went on to serve on Special Forces A Teams, lead as a team commander and keep rising through the warrant officer ranks.

His assignments took him to Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, Germany, Afghanistan and Iraq. In Thailand he and his unit worked with the Thai Army on marksmanship training and counter drug operations, and similar missions followed in Korea and at bases across the United States. Special Forces work centers on unconventional warfare, and it demands both language skills and deep technical training.

The high point of his career came near the end. Mr. Wester became the first chief warrant officer 5 in the 19th Special Forces Group and served as its command chief warrant officer. In that role he watched how units operated, found problems early and brought solutions straight to his commander. He also carried one of the hardest duties in the military: telling families that a loved one had been lost and presenting the flag at the funeral, a responsibility he first took on as a Marine.

Along the way he earned a master's degree in business management from the University of Phoenix in 1989. He is a master parachutist qualified to lead airborne operations, holds military free fall certification and is an expert marksman with both rifle and pistol.

His decorations include the Legion of Merit, three Meritorious Service Medals, several commendation medals, five Army Achievement Medals, the National Defense Service Medal and the Combat Infantry Badge.

In retirement he serves as president of Chapter 70 of the Special Forces Association and belongs to the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion. He still helps run marksmanship training for Special Forces units. He has also helped dozens of veterans prepare the paperwork they need to obtain or raise their disability ratings with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and he works with a group focused on preventing suicide among service members and veterans.

Mr. Wester credits much of who he is to his father, John Wester Sr., and admits that John Wayne's war films played their part too. He has no plans to slow down. As long as there are soldiers to train and veterans to help, he intends to be there.

Dynamo Times recognizes John A. Wester Jr. for a lifetime of service in uniform and the quiet, steady work he continues for those who served beside him.