Those who have served in the military often have stories to tell of encountering famous people, and CW5 Douglas M. Englen also has one.
Englen, a former Senior Warrant Officer Advisor to the Secretary of the Army, spoke at the October meeting of the Giles County Republican Party.
A member of a Special Operations Aviation Regiment , he served on 34 combat tours, executing over 2,500 missions in support of the global war on terrorism.
At one top level meeting of military and government officials, Englen recalled that one government official kept trying to talk with him.
That man turned out to be now president Joe Biden, then vice president in president Barrack Obama’s administration,
Before becoming vice president, Biden served several terms in the United States Senate.
Englen did a lot of planning for the Nightstalkers, an elite unit in the U.S. Military, that ultimately killed Osama bin Laden, who was responsible for the Sept. 11 attack on targets in New York City, the Pentagon and on an airplane that crashed in Pennsylvania.
Had bin Laden surrendered, he would have been taken into custody, Englen said, but when he didn’t he was killed, and his body was dumped in the Indian Ocean.
Amon g those he worked with on Operation Neptune Spear, which led to bin Laden’s death were then CIA Director Leon Panetta and Admiral William “Bill” McRaven.
Englen was complimentary of the U. S. Government and military for efforts to keep America safe.
”America is still the best place to live,” Englen said.
He was in the 160th Special Operations Group at Fort Campbell, a base in Tennessee and Kentucky.
“Ninety to 95 percent of those in the 160th want to be there,” Englen said.
There are good officers in the military, he said, who have political beliefs that don’t interfere with their duties.
Earlier meeting time
While Giles County Commissioners did not have enough votes to change the commission meeting time to late afternoon from the morning, the proposal gained a lot of support at the Oct. 3 meeting of the Giles County Republican meeting.
Commissioners voted Oct. 17 , and the topic could come up again.
On Oct. 3, when Chris Morris, Giles County Republican Party Chairman, asked who favored holding the meetings later in the day, no one spoke in opposition during the meeting at King B Farm.
A member of the Giles County Election Commission, Morris said the election commissioners try to staff polling places with Republican and Democratic poll workers when possible.
Those interested are urged to apply for those positions, he said.
In a future county county general election, county school board seats from districts 2, 4 and 6 will be on the ballot.
In the August general election, school board members from districts 1, 3 4, 5 and 7 were on the ballot.
District 4 was on the ballot because Katie Journey had resigned in mid term. Elected to replace her was Scooter Sumners.
In other business:
• Nov. 7 will be the next meeting of the Giles County Republican Party, according to Morris. The location was not announced.
• A plea was made for more members to join. Annual dues are $10 per individual, $20 per family.
• Steve Snowden gave a report on the work of the American Bible Society, which has a goal of getting more Bibles into schools.
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