Westmoreland Sheriff taps U.S. Army veteran from Unity as chief of staff

Apr. 26—Westmoreland County Sheriff James Albert named Thomas S. Abraham, a U.S. Army veteran from Unity, as his chief of staff.

"Tom's background makes him a nice asset in this office. He has a lot of experience in budgets, so he'll be working more in that kind of an administrative role," Albert said.

Abraham said he is happy to "be of service" to the community where he was raised.

"It's about service. There's a big need in this country for the rule of law and the sheriff's department is a big part of that," Abraham said.

"The sheriff asked me to help out and I'm willing to serve," Abraham said.

Abraham graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point after his graduation from Greensburg-Salem High School. The Greensburg native played football and wrestled in high school and at the military academy.

As a lieutenant and graduate of Airborne Ranger School, Abraham served in Vietnam and was company commander for advanced infantry training before graduating from U.S. Army Intelligence School.

After the military, he worked in management with the Polaroid Corporation and also worked for Montgomery County in Maryland.

Abraham is also the founder of Veterans Angels, a nonprofit that seeks to help veterans who are suffering post-traumatic stress syndrome.

Abraham succeeds Roger Eckels, a retired district judge from Mt. Pleasant, who left the full-time post as the sheriff's second in command in February after a year on the job to devote more time to his family.

Albert said Eckels will continue working with the sheriff's department on a part-time basis working as an training instructor assisting sheriff's deputies working on certification at the Westmoreland County Community College's public training center gun range in Smithton.

Paul Peirce is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Paul at 724-850-2860, ppeirce@triblive.com or via Twitter .