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Military Connection: Marine Freed from Mexican Jail: By Debbie Gregory

Service members, Veterans and patriots around the country are celebrating the return of Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi to U.S. soil. Late Halloween night, Sgt. Tahmooressi was allowed to return to his country after being imprisoned for 214 days in Mexico on weapons charges.

Last March, Tahmooressi was arrested in Tijuana, Mexico in possession of a .45 caliber pistol, a 12 gauge shotgun and an AR-15 rifle. Tahmooressi claims he simply made a wrong turn, and ended up on the wrong side of the border. But in Mexico, possession of such weapons is a federal crime. The country has been tightening up its border security to stop the flow of weapons from the U.S. that are being used against their police by drug cartels. Based on the Mexican judicial system, if convicted, Tahmooressi faced a minimum of seven years in prison.

Sgt. Tahmooressi served two tours in Afghanistan. He had separated from active duty in 2012. Just days before his arrest in Mexico, Tahmooressi had been diagnosed with PTSD, and had begun receiving treatment in San Diego.

For the entire seven months that Tahmooressi was detained, his mother, Jill Tahmooressi, was an unwavering advocate for her son. She was able to drum up thousands of supporters, including several high-level politicians, and even Veteran/Talk Show Host/Advocate Montel Williams to petition for her son’s release. These allies may have been part of the reason why the Mexican government ordered Tahmooressi’s release.

Reports as late as the morning of his release painted a dismal future for Tahmooressi. News articles reported that the judge could take as long as a week to make a decision, or even postpone the process for several more months. But essentially, the prosecution dropped the charges against the Marine reservist. A psychiatrist hired by the Mexican Attorney General’s office concurred with the opinion that Tahmooressi was indeed suffering from PTSD and required treatment. The Marine sergeant was released in order to receive the psychiatric treatment that his condition required.

Upon his release from Mexican jail, Tahmooressi was transported across the border and back into the U.S. He was immediately taken to a private jet at a small airfield near San Diego. The free Tahmooressi boarded a plane for Florida…. and home.

Neither Sgt. Tahmooressi nor members of his family have yet spoken to the media. The Marine Veteran will spend some time “decompressing” after his long incarceration, and undergo treatment for his PTSD

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