I grew up in the small town of Canon City, CO which is known for the "world famous" Royal Gorge Bridge, as well as our vast amount of prisons. I joined the National Guard in 1996 as a medic and began attending the Univ of CO in Colorado Springs as a biology major. In 1999-2000 I was deployed to Hungary and Croatia as a military policeperson in support of the mission in Bosnia. After returning, I transferred to a medical unit until in Jan 2003 I was transferred back to the military police unit in anticipation of their deployment to Iraq. I arrived in Kuwait in Feb 03 and moved into Iraq in March. Our unit was stationed near the southern city of Nasiriyah and did mostly patrols and convoy escorts. I returned to the states in Feb 04 and in July of that year helped co-found IVAW. I finished my biology degree and have since been volunteering with IVAW to build a local chapter and remain connected to members in my area. I also helped to form a Vets 4 Vets peer support group in my city. I served for several months as the chair of the IVAW board of directors and am currently employed as the Executive Director.