Two wounded warriors and former members of the 7th Special Forces Group, retired Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Burnette and retired Staff Sgt. Bobby Dove, were guests of honor and graduation speakers for the Okaloosa Veterans Treatment Court on March 18.
Burnette, a Crestview resident, joined the Army at age 17 and served in Korea and two tours in Iraq before becoming a Green Beret. On June 27, 2012, an IED exploded, immediately amputating both of his legs. Burnette spent almost a year at Walter Reed Medical Center recovering.
Dove joined the Army in 2008 and earned his Green Beret in 2011. On June 9, 2012, he lost his right arm and leg in an IED blast. Dove spent a week in the ICU and three months in inpatient care. He returned to active duty seven months later and served a non-combat deployment of 12 months before medically retiring.
Dove founded “Hooligan Charters” and, with Burnette, provides inshore and near-shore fishing guide services.
Judge Patt Maney started the Veterans Treatment Court in 2010 to better serve justice-involved veterans. Maney, a retired Army brigadier general, is a combat-wounded veteran of Afghanistan and formerly was the deputy commandant of the JFK Special Warfare Center and School.
While the Okaloosa Veterans Treatment Court was the first in the state, there are now VTCs in 24 counties, including one in Escambia County. The outcome-based court handles misdemeanors and felonies.
The court can handle diversionary cases that result in charges being dismissed and post-adjudicatory cases as a condition of probation, and leverages resources of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to provide treatment.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview man among Green Berets inspiring Veterans Court graduates