Veterans Rally Behind Sheriff Mark Butler: A Testament to Military Values and Proven Leadership in Warren County

People ask the two of us all the time why large numbers of local military veterans and local military families with loved ones serving in the U.S. armed forces are strongly supporting Mark Butler to be reelected sheriff of Warren County next Tuesday.

The answer is simple.

Sheriff Butler is the only one in the sheriff’s race who has served in the Armed Forces.  And possesses — in our view and those of large numbers of local veterans we know and admire — the military values of honor, courage, commitment, and integrity.

Sheriff Butler enlisted in the U.S. Army at age 17 and served as a non-commissioned officer in the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colorado; the 2nd Infantry Division in Korea; and the elite 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.  He has made 65 airborne jumps.

As Warren County sheriff, Sheriff Butler — along with chief deputy Major Robert Mumaw and 14 Warren County other deputies who have served in the U.S. armed forces — initiated a unique program called “No Veteran Left Behind,”  which guarantees any honorably discharged veteran an interview with the Warren County Sheriff’s Office for employment.

Sheriff Butler has won many awards during his 20 years of service with the Fairfax Sheriff’s Department (1999-2006) and Herndon Police Department (2006-2013).  Among them are:

• • Selection by the Herndon Police Department as “Officer of the Year” in 2006 — just six months after he went to work for the department.

• • Virginia House of Delegates “Meritorious Action Award,” dated October 29, 2009, for stopping a huge prescription-drug-sale ring in Herndon, Virginia.

• • Selection by the national capital chapter of the American Society of Industrial Security (ASIS) as “Law Enforcement Officer of the Year” for 2013 for Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia.  Sheriff Butler won this award for his work — over a four-year period — as the “lead undercover officer” in a massive Chinese fraudulent-card-and-human-smuggler ring.  After infiltrating an Asian fraudulent card network, Sheriff Butler’s work resulted in the seizure of almost $3 million in property and the indictment of 48 Chinese nationals.  ASIS is the largest organization of U.S. security professionals in the U.S.

• • Certificate of Valor Award” from the 114th U.S. Congress (2015-2017) for diving into a pond and saving the life of a 13-year-old boy who tried to commit suicide by drowning.

• • An award from Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring for removing felonious immigrants off the streets of Herndon, Virginia — including vicious MS-13 and 18th Street gang members.  The award is dated March 26, 2015.

Under Sheriff Butler’s leadership over the past four years, the Warren County Sheriff’s Office has twice received highly coveted awards from the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS):

• • “State accreditation,” which the previous sheriff lost in 2019 — and which only 31% of Virginia’s 340 law-enforcement agencies currently hold.  The Warren County Sheriff’s Office is the only state-certified law-enforcement agency in Warren County.

• • The “Certified Crime-Prevention Community (CCPC)” designation places the Warren County Sheriff’s Office in the top 3% of the state’s 340 law-enforcement agencies.

In summary, Sheriff Butler is a tough, honest, well-respected law-enforcement officer who has done an excellent job the past four years as Warren County sheriff.  Vote to reelect him sheriff next Tuesday.

Jay Butler, Colonel, U.S. Army, retired, and member of the Warren County Board of Supervisors *
John Lundberg, Colonel, U.S. Army, retired

*Mr. Butler’s signature represents his personal support of Sheriff Butler.  It does not represent the support of the Warren County Board of Supervisors or his constituents in the Happy Creek District).

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