{"id":42331,"date":"2022-05-10T13:27:59","date_gmt":"2022-05-10T13:27:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/05\/10\/alabama-marine-veteran-is-volunteering-in-ukraine\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T07:28:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T07:28:31","slug":"alabama-marine-veteran-is-volunteering-in-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/2022\/05\/10\/alabama-marine-veteran-is-volunteering-in-ukraine\/","title":{"rendered":"Alabama Marine veteran is volunteering in Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For about a month now, U.S. Marine veteran <\/a>Sean Schofield has been sending dispatches back to Cullman, Alabama, from a place few would volunteer to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since late March, he\u2019s been one of more than 6,000 foreign volunteers <\/a>from the U.S., Australia, the UK and other western countries who\u2019ve left their civilian lives behind and traveled to Ukraine<\/a>, aiding military personnel and civilian supporters in mounting a sovereign defense against Russian invasion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In that time, Schofield has sent word back home that he\u2019s already seen active combat, taken part in missions to escort civilians through combat areas, and been a firsthand participant in Ukraine\u2019s ad hoc response to Russia\u2019s massive military machine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s already traveled the country almost end-to-end, most recently setting up (at Ukraine\u2019s request) on the outskirts of Kyiv. There, he\u2019s been an instructor within a training unit that schools the Ukrainian armed forces \u2014 many of whom are recent enlistees with no prior experience \u2014 in an intensive two-week military crash course before they\u2019re sent to the front lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\t