CAPT. JOHN VELIS
WESTFIELD – John Velis has always wanted to serve his country.
Growing up, the Westfield native knew he would one day join the military. He also knew he would be a lawyer. Today, Velis, 32, is living both of those dreams.
“I always wanted to serve in the military in some capacity,” he said.
Velis’ father was in the National Guard and his granduncles were decorated World War II veterans. Although military service was not something stressed while growing up, it was inherently important to him.
After graduating from Westfield High School in 1999, Velis attended Suffolk Law School. In between, he joined the Marines and while training on Paris Island, he broke his wrist and was given a medical discharge.
“I said I’d be back to serve in some military capacity,” Velis said. “I decided the Army was the biggest of the services and joined the reserves.”
Velis joined in 2010 after earning his law degree and trained at Fort Lee and Fort Benning.
Velis is stationed out of Cranston, Rhode Island and is being deployed to Afghanistan to serve with the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division.
“This is a rule of law based deployment,” said Velis. “One thing all functioning or flourishing societies throughout history have had in common is some type of rule of law. We’re trying to help them with that because in a short time there won’t be a U.S. presence there and if they don’t have a rule of law, there will be problems.”
Velis said the 3rd Infantry, out of Georgia, is arguably one of the most prominent infantry units in the United States Army.
Velis is leaving this Friday for a week of training at Fort Benning, and then will travel to Afghanistan in the regions of Kandahar, Uruzgan, Zabul, and Daykundi.
“We’ll be going out into the villages and helping them implement rule of law,” said Velis. “I will be training judges, attorneys and law students.”
Velis said it is his understanding that the response to the effort is “a day-to-day thing.” However, he looks forward to the challenge.
“It will be a learning experience for me,” he said. “It’s their legal system. We’re just lending our expertise.”
Velis said it would be interesting to learn about the civil law practiced in Afghanistan.
“I’m ready to go,” he said.
Veils, whose law practice is located on School Street, hopes to be a featured columnist in The Westfield News throughout his deployment, reporting back on his experiences as time allows.
