County prosecutor deploys to Iraq

Choosing fatigues and a helmet over his trademark lawyer’s bowtie, Whitman County’s senior deputy prosecutor Bill Druffel flies out Sunday for a year-long tour of duty in Iraq.

Druffel, 38, joined the Army Reserve a year ago and was notified of his deployment last month.

Druffel will provide legal counsel to soldiers in his brigade as well as legal counsel to Iraqis looking to rebuild their judicial system.

Druffel has served in the prosecutor’s office for three years.

“Not every country lawyer from Whitman County gets this opportunity to take. It’s an adventure,” Druffel said in an interview...