John Napier finished 10th in the two-man bobsled at the 2010 Winter Olympics. (Getty Images)
During the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Sgt. John Napier said he hoped to soon deploy with his unit to Afghanistan as a member of the Vermont National Guard. But the Army apparently preferred for the world-class bobsledder to continue his training stateside.
Napier said in a recent interview that he’s pretty uneasy about that decision.
“The feeling of guilt I have not being over there weighs heavily every day,” Napier told the Albany Times-Union.
Vermont’s 86th Brigade Combat Team arrived in Afghanistan in March. Guardsmen from the 86th were involved with repelling the insurgent attack on Bagram Air Field this past Saturday.
Napier, who finished 10th in the 2-man bobsled in Vancouver, is now training at Lake Placid as part of the Army’s World Class Athlete Program. He’s recovered from a neck injury he suffered during the four-man competition in Vancouver, and is preparing for world cup season.
“It stinks not going [to Afghanistan]. That was and is where my heart is,” he told the paper. “I was kind of really let down inside, that I wouldn’t get the opportunity to serve over there.”
Read the full Times-Union story here.
