Army Sgt. Major Merle Bragg, Jr. has been cruising around some of the newer Berlin streets and venues.
That’s because as Berlin Police Officer Bragg, the roads, terrain and scenery are dramatically different from the experiences he had riding through the roads and towns of places of battle-ridden areas such as Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Since the tragic day of Sept. 11, 2001, Bragg has been home a total of 13 months. When he comes home, he changes his Army dress and fatigues to become a local police officer. That has been the case since his 1996 Town of Berlin Police Department employment.
Every time he’s been recalled or redeployed by the Army, Berlin holds his place in the department.
Appearing before the mayor and Town Council Monday night in his full dress uniform, Bragg, 47, received a special proclamation for his duty to town and to country. The occasion: his return from a nine-year deployment.
Part of the proclamation read: “During Sergeant Major Bragg’s deployment, he was sent to numerous locations including the Pentagon following the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center; and numerous overseas locations supporting Operation “Iraqi Freedom” and Operation “Enduring Freedom” in Afghanistan.”
The proclamation also noted that Berlin Mayor Wiliam G. Williams III, on behalf of the council and Berlin residents “hereby pay tribute to Officer Merle Bragg, Jr. for his dedicated service to the Town of Berlin and the United States of America serving both here and abroad.”
It is possible that Bragg could be called upon again for Army service.
He comes back to active Berlin police duty at a time when the town is preparing for its upcoming Christmas tree lighting and holiday festivities. Certainly, this is far removed from driving heavy tonnage vehicles and having 80 pounds of equipment strapped to his body.
Bragg said he tells people who want to get a better idea of what Iraq and Afghanistan look like, simply open a Bible and read the descriptions. Certainly, it is no Garden of Eden, but absolutely there are small desert towns, tribalism and livestock herds described fully in scripture.
“Everything, every day there was something different,” he said the day after honored by the mayor and council.
During his service, he has spent eight years at the Pentagon as the Army’s non-commissioned officer in charge of the National Detainee Reporting Center.
He’s also done four tours at the Prisoner of War Camp at Guantanamo, a place he helped open and establish.
While in Iraq, he and his men opened Camp Cropper, named after Staff Sgt. Kenneth Cropper of his Salisbury-based unit, who died of a heart attack. Bragg is assigned with the Headquarters Company of the 115th Military Police Battalion in Salisbury.
He recalls being home for sixth months in 2002 and then six months in 2004. Each time he was called back. But when he left on July 6, 2004 for deployment at the Pentagon, as part of the 29th Infantry Division, it was supposed to be for six months.
Nine years later, he is back. He and his wife Lynn, live in nearby Hebron.
His impressions of Berlin since he’s returned, “The main street area has made some improvements,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of old faces I knew. I’m trying to memorize all of the new streets I’ve seen. I’m told there’s 600 or 700 new homes and 1,200 new residents.”
He said that when he returned home the “honey do” list was pretty expansive. The Army Military Police has even awarded his wife a medal, for the support she’s given her husband and the service.
In 1990, he graduated from the police academy in Salisbury. His current chief, Arnold Downing, was an academy classmate.
Downing was there Monday and watched with pride as this Berlin senior officer was honored.
“We know about the many sacrifices he made with his family. He answered the call on Sept. 11, 2001. He had to be somewhere at the drop of a dime. We’re talking about someone who didn’t just answer the call, but was selected … for special duty and assignments. I have a sense of pride just being associated with him. He received a presidential order to go ahead because of his special knowledge.
“We were sad that he was gone away from us, but we knew of his greater commitment that must be served.”
That’s because as Berlin Police Officer Bragg, the roads, terrain and scenery are dramatically different from the experiences he had riding through the roads and towns of places of battle-ridden areas such as Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Since the tragic day of Sept. 11, 2001, Bragg has been home a total of 13 months. When he comes home, he changes his Army dress and fatigues to become a local police officer. That has been the case since his 1996 Town of Berlin Police Department employment.
Every time he’s been recalled or redeployed by the Army, Berlin holds his place in the department.
Appearing before the mayor and Town Council Monday night in his full dress uniform, Bragg, 47, received a special proclamation for his duty to town and to country. The occasion: his return from a nine-year deployment.
Part of the proclamation read: “During Sergeant Major Bragg’s deployment, he was sent to numerous locations including the Pentagon following the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center; and numerous overseas locations supporting Operation “Iraqi Freedom” and Operation “Enduring Freedom” in Afghanistan.”
The proclamation also noted that Berlin Mayor Wiliam G. Williams III, on behalf of the council and Berlin residents “hereby pay tribute to Officer Merle Bragg, Jr. for his dedicated service to the Town of Berlin and the United States of America serving both here and abroad.”
It is possible that Bragg could be called upon again for Army service.
He comes back to active Berlin police duty at a time when the town is preparing for its upcoming Christmas tree lighting and holiday festivities. Certainly, this is far removed from driving heavy tonnage vehicles and having 80 pounds of equipment strapped to his body.
Bragg said he tells people who want to get a better idea of what Iraq and Afghanistan look like, simply open a Bible and read the descriptions. Certainly, it is no Garden of Eden, but absolutely there are small desert towns, tribalism and livestock herds described fully in scripture.
“Everything, every day there was something different,” he said the day after honored by the mayor and council.
During his service, he has spent eight years at the Pentagon as the Army’s non-commissioned officer in charge of the National Detainee Reporting Center.
He’s also done four tours at the Prisoner of War Camp at Guantanamo, a place he helped open and establish.
While in Iraq, he and his men opened Camp Cropper, named after Staff Sgt. Kenneth Cropper of his Salisbury-based unit, who died of a heart attack. Bragg is assigned with the Headquarters Company of the 115th Military Police Battalion in Salisbury.
He recalls being home for sixth months in 2002 and then six months in 2004. Each time he was called back. But when he left on July 6, 2004 for deployment at the Pentagon, as part of the 29th Infantry Division, it was supposed to be for six months.
Nine years later, he is back. He and his wife Lynn, live in nearby Hebron.
His impressions of Berlin since he’s returned, “The main street area has made some improvements,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of old faces I knew. I’m trying to memorize all of the new streets I’ve seen. I’m told there’s 600 or 700 new homes and 1,200 new residents.”
He said that when he returned home the “honey do” list was pretty expansive. The Army Military Police has even awarded his wife a medal, for the support she’s given her husband and the service.
In 1990, he graduated from the police academy in Salisbury. His current chief, Arnold Downing, was an academy classmate.
Downing was there Monday and watched with pride as this Berlin senior officer was honored.
“We know about the many sacrifices he made with his family. He answered the call on Sept. 11, 2001. He had to be somewhere at the drop of a dime. We’re talking about someone who didn’t just answer the call, but was selected … for special duty and assignments. I have a sense of pride just being associated with him. He received a presidential order to go ahead because of his special knowledge.
“We were sad that he was gone away from us, but we knew of his greater commitment that must be served.”