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Alex Remington, a sergeant first class in the 378th Military Intelligence Battalion at Fort Snelling, wrote to U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman last week asking for the Republican’s help with the suspension.
Remington, a 26-year veteran who speaks Arabic and several other languages, said he has been falsely accused of stealing $217 worth of walkie-talkies. The Egyptian native, who was also barred from re-enlistment, suspended from his unit and booted from the Army computer network, questioned whether his religion had anything to do with the clearance suspension.
Without it, Remington, 56, said he was worthless in the intelligence field, either in the Army or out of it. “I’ve had enough,” he said. “This is an absurdity.”
A military spokeswoman declined to comment for privacy reasons. But Maj. Monica Griffin said authorities have asked that Remington’s allegations be reviewed by the U.S. Army Reserve Command.
Coleman’s office will turn the complaint over to the appropriate Army personnel for follow-up, a spokesman said Thursday.
Remington emigrated from Egypt to the United States in 1980 and joined the Army in 1981. He changed his surname when he became a citizen in 1985, in part because he liked the work of cowboy artist Frederic Remington. He is a full-time Army Reservist and has spent 11 years on active duty.
Remington participated in operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in Iraq and, after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Arabic is his native language, but he also speaks English, Greek and French and has some knowledge of Korean, German and Russian.
According to military records, he led a battlefield team that assisted special operations forces, and he has worked alongside the Central Intelligence Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Security Agency and British intelligence agencies.
