An Okmulgee County soldier is exonerated

US Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Theresa Russell of Henryetta faced charges of desertion, with possible punishment ranging from reprimand to the death penalty. <br/><br/>She told the News on 6 three weeks ago,

Monday, April 11th 2005, 9:24 am

By: News On 6

US Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Theresa Russell of Henryetta faced charges of desertion, with possible punishment ranging from reprimand to the death penalty.

She told the News on 6 three weeks ago, her superiors had made a mistake and the military legal system listened. "People look at you as, you got that label as deserter and you know you've got this black cloud hanging over you, and I'm not a deserter. I mean, why would I throw away 17 years of my time?" That's what Staff Sgt. Russell said when she first showed News on 6 anchor Tami Marler the medical file that clearly indicated, she was in the hospital on the date she was supposed to have returned to Iraq.

She tried to notify her superiors, but didn't receive a reply until it was too late. "And on the 24th of October, that afternoon, I received an email from my commander that he didn't approve my emergency leave, extension, that I needed to return back to the airport on the 23rd. And this was a day later."

Just after our interview, NCIS issued a warrant for Russell's arrest. "I was arrested Easter Morning, transported to Henryetta PD, kept there 12 hours. They transferred me to the county. I was there for three days. And Fort Sill Oklahoma picked me up." Russell spent the next ten days in detention with other accused deserters. She told Fort Sill authorities she was fighting the charges with documents that proved she was too sick to return to duty, documents she'd tried to show her superior officers.

She fought and she won. "When I did do the story I did have a lot of people who looked down on me because I deserted the Army, but this will vindicate me. Because this shows that I did prove that I was in the hospital and that I didn't desert the Army and that the Army deserted me."

Russell was ordered to return to her Broken Arrow reserve unit, where she picked up her effects over the weekend. She reported to Fort Sill on Monday for physical therapy, then await further orders.

Russell has served 17 years in the military, she hopes to retire with 20.