This story was originally produced by the Concord Monitor. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
A lieutenant colonel in the New Hampshire National Guard is scheduled to be court-martialed next year after he was charged with assault and sexual harassment, the U.S. Army said.
According to the Associated Press, Mark Patterson of Weare has not been arraigned but is scheduled to be court-martialed on Jan. 22, after a National Guard investigation uncovered multiple alleged offenses: assault consummated by a battery; sexual harassment; maltreatment of subordinates; conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentlemen; and violating general orders.
Patterson was reassigned to staff officer once the investigation began. Before that reassignment, in October, Patterson and 164 guard members under his command were honored by family and friends at Guard headquarters in Concord.
He was the commander of the 941st Military Police Battalion and was preparing to deploy to the United States’ southeastern border with Mexico. A departure date was not disclosed at the time.
The soldiers under Patterson’s command were to monitor the border areas, adding extra sets of eyes to help officials do their jobs more efficiently. They were not permitted to engage with anyone suspected of crossing the border illegally, according to previous reporting by the Monitor.
The Associated Press reported that Patterson’s lawyer, Joseph Jordan, said it would be a mistake to rush to judgment.
“Not everything is as it appears,” Jordan said, according to the AP. “There are individuals on the charge sheet who are not telling the complete truth about the nature of their relationship with our client. We continue to work towards the best resolution possible under the circumstances.”
Patterson is married and has children. He served six years in the Navy. He joined the Guard shortly after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and has made it his life work for more than 20 years. He became a full-time Guardsman in 2004.
Patterson was featured prominently last October in the Monitor’s coverage of the send-off at Guard headquarters.
He stood in front of soldiers in Guard fatigues, on a giant sea of manicured grass at the Guard training complex on Sheep Davis Road in Pembroke, praising the men and women under his command for their selfless acts during natural disasters, war and worldwide infection.
He cited numbers, like the more than 800,000 vaccines administered by the Guard in the state during the pandemic, and the delivery of 400,000 pounds of food.
Afterward, he explained his decision to change direction and join the Guard, rather than putting his college degree in business to work.
“I was emotionally moved by 9-11,” Patterson said, “and coming from my service in the Navy and my family’s military background, I could not just sit around and do nothing, so I joined the Guard.”
He continued: “If you remember back then, we were all pretty pissed off. My dad is a combat veteran, and so is each man in my family line. I had to do my part.”
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