SLO County District Attorney Dan Dow returns from National Guard deployment to Middle East
San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow is headed home after a seven-month deployment to the Middle East with the California Army National Guard, he confirmed to The Tribune on Thursday.
Dow was deployed in September to join the California Army National Guard’s 40th Infantry Division overseas. It was the division’s first deployment since the Korean War in January 1952, according to the U.S. National Guard.
The division supported the Operation Spartan Shield and Operation Inherent Resolve missions to build partner capacity and increase regional security in the Middle East, including Iraq, Jordan and Kuwait, the National Guard said.
In an Instagram photo Thursday morning, Dow posted a selfie on a plane with the caption, “A great day indeed.”
Dow is currently at Fort Cavazos, Texas, to decompress from the mission, he said in a text message to The Tribune. He is still on temporary active-duty military leave, but Assistant District Attorney Eric Dobroth told The Tribune that Dow is expected to return to his position in early May.
“I am very pleased to be able to serve the people of the United States and the state of California through my continued service in the California Army National Guard and be a part of this historic deployment of the 40th Infantry Division,” Dow wrote in an emailed statement at the time of his deployment. “I am anxious to get to work for the Army and return as quickly as possible to my very rewarding job as district attorney.”
Dow is a lieutenant colonel reserve officer and military judge in the California Army National Guard, the District Attorney’s Office said. He has served in the U.S. Army, U.S. Army Reserve and Army National Guard. In June, Dow marked 30 years of military service.
He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal during his deployment to Iraq under Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn. He also served in Kosovo under Operation Enduring Freedom.
