Submitted photo Joseph Valimont led soldiers on a conditioning hike up a small mountain outside Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2016.

EDITOR’S NOTE: To suggest a veteran for this series, which runs weekly through Veterans Day, email Metro Editor Marly Reichert at mreichert@tribtoday.com or call her at 330-841-1737.

WARREN — Joseph Valimont saw history up close from sandy foxholes in basic training to operations centers in Afghanistan and liaison duties in Korea over a 20-year Army career that began as a direct response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Growing up in the Champion-Warren area, Valimont was steeped in values of civic duty, Boy Scouts and volunteering from an early age. Valimont felt those principles crystallize while hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Hearing President George W. Bush’s address, he knew what he had to do.

“I have to get up and serve my country,” Valimont said. “We were attacked, and we need to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

Valimont, now 48, enlisted in the Army in May 2003 at age 25 after earning a psychology degree.

He retired in mid-2023 as a major following two decades that took him from basic training to multiple deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq, along with staff roles and advisory positions in Europe and Korea.

His path began at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, for basic training in the sandy soil that collapsed foxholes as quickly as they were dug. He moved swiftly through Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia, in July 2003, then to intelligence officer training at Fort Huachuca, Arizona.

By May 2004, Valimont arrived at his first duty station with the 165th Military Intelligence Battalion (Tactical Exploitation) in Darmstadt, Germany. Months later, in December 2004, he deployed to Afghanistan, operating primarily from Bagram and Kandahar.

As executive officer for a human intelligence and counterintelligence company, he worked to identify threats inside and outside the wire, gathering information from locals while adapting to cultural norms, including growing a beard.

“Afghans are super pragmatic,” he said. “They wanted to maintain their village and make it through the day.”

He returned to Germany in December 2005, transferred to V Corps in Heidelberg in 2006, and later completed the Captain’s Career Course. In 2008-2009, he served as an intelligence adviser on a Military Transition Team with the 6th Iraqi Army Division, conducting convoys across Iraq while relying on smart timing and capable teammates to minimize risks.

Valimont’s career included command of C Company, 24th MI Battalion in Wiesbaden, Germany, starting in 2012, where his unit served as an Analysis and Control Element supporting operations, including studies of African nations. He deployed again to Afghanistan in 2013-2014 through the AFPAK Hands program after language and strategy training, and once more in 2016, witnessing the country’s evolution over years.

Each return to Afghanistan showed dramatic changes, new cities, infrastructure and plumbing where there had been dirt roads. To Valimont this is part of what he meant about witnessing the history up close as his experience challenges the perceptions that little progress occurred.

“You can’t say we didn’t do nothing,” he said.

Later assignments took him to Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia, in 2013, where from half a world away his team helped thwart an ambush by relaying real-time intelligence to a convoy in Iraq. He served with U.S. Forces Korea in Seoul and Eighth Army for three years as a digital liaison officer in Daegu that facilitated communication between U.S. and South Korean forces.

Family military history loomed in the background. His father was drafted for the Bay of Pigs, but served stateside as a crane operator turned combat engineer before returning to civilian work. Grandfathers and uncles served in World War II.

Valimont said he sought an “emic perspective” on history to witness and understand events from inside rather than reading the footnotes. He described service as striving to “do the right thing when you’re in any situation,” reflecting on moments that could have turned catastrophic, like a sergeant preventing friendly fire between Afghan units, as more impactful than personal heroics.

Returning to Warren in 2023 he said the transition felt manageable. Having joined later in life, he already navigated the tasks of managing bills and responsibilities. The bigger shift Valimont described was finding new meaning after two decades where his work carried national significance.

He has channeled some of his leadership into local service having run for first ward council in Warren. He saw the role as a direct way to solve neighborhood issues. “Councilman is often the first person people reach out to with problems,” he said. “It gives another opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the society around you.”

Joseph Valimont

AGE: 48

RESIDENCE: Warren

SERVICE BRANCH: Army

MILITARY HONORS: Bronze Star Medal (2nd award), Meritorious Service Medal (2nd award), Joint Service Commendation Medal (2nd award), Army Commendation Medal (3rd Award), Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal (2nd award), National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Service Star, National Defense Service Medal for Global War on Terrorism, Service Medal/Korea Defense, Service Medal/Afghanistan Campaign Medal with 3 stars, Armed Forces Service Medal/Iraq Campaign Medal with 2 stars, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon (10th award) and NATO Medal (2nd award)

OCCUPATION: Digital Liaison Operations