Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Angel Martinez-Navedo | Brig. Gen. Daryl O. Hood (left), the commanding general of the 20th Chemical,...... read more read more
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ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. – The Command Judge Advocate for the U.S. military’s premier all hazards command completed his 20-year Army career on Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, Feb. 21.
Maj. William J. Cook III retired from the U.S. Army during a widely attended ceremony at the 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command Headquarters.
Before enlisting in the Army in 2003, Cook earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Management (Accounting) from Webster University and then went to the University of Missouri-Kansas City for law school.
Cook joined the Army as a paralegal specialist to take advantage of the student loan repayment program
“I decided to join the Army, get my loans paid off and reassess the job market and my situation,” said Cook. “Turns out I loved what I was doing in the Army and chose to stay. Practice in the military has many benefits that you won’t get in the private sector.”
In his first assignment, Cook served at Camp Humphreys in South Korea, where he met his future wife Linda Amarsingh.
“The highlight of my career undoubtedly has been meeting my wife and marrying her, cajoling her to come back in the Army and sharing our careers together,” said Cook, adding that his wife was medically retired as a captain in September 2021.
Cook served with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment and deployed to Iraq. During Operation Restoring Rights in Tal Afar, Iraq, Cook processed more than 700 detainees at the point of capture over three weeks.
“After serving, I realized that I really enjoyed the people that I worked with and decided to apply to become an officer,” said Cook, who is originally from St. Louis.
While serving as a sergeant in Iraq, Cook applied for a direct commission into the Judge Advocate General Corps. He was accepted and commissioned as a 1st lieutenant.
Cook spent more than half of his Army career in military justice, serving as a prosecutor, defense counsel, senior defense counsel and chief of justice. He tried more than 50 cases at courts martial and earned the JAG Corps Expert military justice practitioner designation.
Cook also served as the Command Judge Advocate for the 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command on Fort Bliss, Texas.
He concluded his Army career as the Command Judge Advocate at the 20th CBRNE Command.
From 19 bases in 16 states, Soldiers and Army civilians from 20th CBRNE Command confront and defeat the world’s most dangerous hazards in support of joint, interagency and allied operations.
Cook said the key to success as a U.S. Army Judge Advocate General is contributing to the team and helping a command to make the best decisions possible.
He now plans to move to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, and hopes to work as a civilian government attorney, preferably for the Army.
Lt. Col. Brad Cowan, the chief of the Administrative Law Division at the Office of the Judge Advocate General, served as the guest speaker at the ceremony.
Brig. Gen. Daryl O. Hood, the commanding general of 20th CBRNE Command, thanked Cook for his two decades of dedicated service. The commanding general added that his success was made possible by the support of his wife and family.
“You have had an amazing impact and that is the effect that you had on people not only here but throughout your career,” said Hood. “It has been a reflection of who you are as a person, as a legal advisor and lawyer and also in leadership as a commissioned officer.”
| Date Taken: | 02.22.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 02.22.2023 16:21 |
| Story ID: | 438969 |
| Location: | ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, MARYLAND, US |
| Hometown: | HARPERS FERRY, WEST VIRGINIA, US |
| Hometown: | ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, US |
| Web Views: | 116 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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