Quit the Army, Go to Bagdad, Pass Go, Collect $200

posted at 3:09 pm
on Feb. 26, 2006

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George, my friend and key player in many of my life’s stories, quit the army last month.  He’d been a lifer, but he got tired of certain aspects of army life COUGH*stupid hierarchies*COUGH and he’d been stationed at a recruiting center stateside for some time.

So, he got headhunted and he just took a job with a defense contractor.  He’s currently in an airport in Amman (I looked it up—that’s in Jordan) and he’s about to board a plane to Baghdad.  There, he’ll be doing defense contractor things, hopefully nothing that requires body armour, and sleeping under his desk, or so I picture it.  I know he’ll be in the green zone, which I picture being shaped like the logo for Target stores, but in the color of lime jello.

It’s not often you hear about someone leaving the U.S. military and then going to Iraq, but George has never been one to do things in the right order.  He also proposed to his wife before he ever went on a date with her.  He had a kid before they moved in together.  And I’ve regularly seen him eat dessert before his main course.  Sometimes he hits send before he writes an email.  It’s not tidy, being George.  So being in the middle of a “civil” war is just the kind of oxymoron he thrives on.

Anyway, his blog is a great read.  In addition to his regular entries about what it’s like to be a private (not a Private) person in Iraq, he’s also blogging his way to reading 100 books this year.

George, stay safe, make Iraq a better place, and come home soon.

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Keywords: bagdad  •  blog  •  contractor  •  defense  •  flight  •  george  •  green zone  •  iraq

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