John Napier will race for his country in Vancouver. He might represent his nation in a different way after that.
Shortly after being selected to the U.S. Olympic bobsled team on Sunday, the 23-year-old from Schenectady, N.Y., again said he has inquired about joining his National Guard unit in Afghanistan.
Napier is a sergeant with the Vermont National Guard, which earlier this month had more than 200 troops head to Indiana for training before deployment overseas. He has spoken several times in recent months about serving overseas, often saying that he remains “a soldier first.”
Napier enlisted in the National Guard in 2007 and is a member of the Army’s World Class Athlete Program, which helps provide him with support and training.