About a year ago I was on a flight home from a speaking event and struck up a conversation with the guy sitting next to me. He was about my age and we chatted for essentially the entire 3 hour flight. He was an interesting fellow that clearly had that intangible characteristic. We spoke of our careers (he was a 'consultant'), families and life experiences. We exchanged contact information and swapped a few emails here and there over a few months.
Then last month I received an email from Jeff and in it he disclosed to me that on that flight he was an active Air Marshall, carrying a weapon and protecting the safety of our flight.
Then I get the real story on this guy...a former member of the Department of Homeland Security, he's caught terrorists inside the United States, trained with members of the U.S. Olympic Ski Team, he is a trained sniper, former SWAT team leader and a FBI-trained crisis negotiator. He has a master’s degree in Military Studies and Terrorism and is an expert in suicide terrorism and crime. He served on the Just War Theory Project for the Academic Council of the United Nations System. He is the co-owner of Liberty Protective Solutions, LLC and has served as a security specialist for the U.S.-led “Roadmap to Mideast Peace.” Right now, he is serving as a member of the U.S. Armed Forces (Reserve) in Iraq.
Now...on top of all of that he is a great guy. A real genuine man with great intentions.
No matter how you feel about the war and the administration that took us there (most familiar with me know my disenchanted view), you have to respect a guy like this that devotes his life to protecting our freedoms and liberties.
I'm honored to know him.
He has been blogging about his experiences in Iraq. Please check it out.
