State senator resigns from Guard after rule violation

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A senator whose crucial vote on the state's concealed-guns law resulted in a light military reprimand said he has resigned from the National Guard.

Sen. Jon Dolan, R-Lake St. Louis, ended his military service effective July 1, he and military officials told The Associated Press.

Dolan had received a letter of admonition -- a relatively light punishment -- for unknowingly violating military rules against political activity by taking leave from a National Guard assignment in Cuba. He returned to Missouri last September and cast a critical vote to override Democratic Gov. Bob Holden's veto of legislation allowing concealed guns.

Dolan said Friday in a telephone interview that the military has not changed its policy restricting elected officials from certain political activities, and he determined it was in the best interests of his legislative district and his family to end his military career.

Brig. Gen. Dennis Shull, the state's National Guard leader, called Dolan's resignation a "personal decision."

Shull also said the situation should make others in the military aware that they must be careful when they play dual roles.

"It certainly will elevate everybody's understanding of the fact there are certain considerations one must take," he said.

While the military's policy has not changed, Shull said, "a much better job will be done of briefing those soldiers that serve, so in the future there's not a misunderstanding what one can do, what actions one can take while in federal service."

A Defense Department regulation prohibits reservists from holding or exercising the functions of a civil office while called up for a tour of duty longer than 270 days.

After receiving a directive to either cease all senatorial duties or end his active military duties, Dolan requested and was allowed to be released from duty at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he was assigned as a public affairs major.

The Army determined after the fact that he should not have returned for the September Senate vote, but also that Dolan and his supervisors who granted him leave were not aware of the rule's proper interpretation.

Dolan said if he had remained in the military, he could have wound up in the same situation again, and that his ambitions beyond the Senate could make it hard to do both anyway.

"When you raise your profile as high as I did in the military, it could be a career-limiting factor," he said. With "the opportunities to serve the Second District and to my family, it's best at this time for me to go ahead and resign."