One of Army's Last Draftees Retires
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}June 27, 2011: Command Sgt. Mellinger talks about his nearly 40-year career during an interview in his office in Fort Belvoir, Va. (AP)
June 27, 2011: Command Sgt. Mellinger talks about his nearly 40-year career during an interview in his office in Fort Belvoir, Va.
June 27, 2011: Command Sgt. Mellinger shows a piece of an improvised explosive device. The IED landed directly in front of him on the windshield of his vehicle in Iraq. (AP)
June 27, 2011: Command Sgt. Mellinger talks about his nearly 40-year career during an interview in his office. His motto is simple: "No whining" is spelled out on a red button hanging from a homemade mobile in his office made from the screws and metal plate taken from his right leg. (AP)
June 27, 2011: Command Sgt. Mellinger shows a poster sample of an Iraqi ballot in his office. (AP)
Nov. 11, 2010: Command Sgt. Major Jeff Mellinger, right, photographs Sgt. Timothy Weichert, from Rockville, Md., next to the grave of Robin Towns Sr. on Veterans Day at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. (AP)