[conco303]

I'm 23 years old and recently graduated with a BS in International Affairs and a Minor in Cyber Security. War has touched every side of my family, whether they were volunteering to fight for America in sandy, date-palm tree strewn areas of the world, or they were fleeing to America from those same areas, because Christians in the Middle East don't end up sitting very pretty if they have a run in with HAMAS or Al Qaeda.

I took the ASVAB and scored a 127 on my GT line. My AFQT was 98 percentile, and needless to say the recruiter basically told me that I could pick the contract I felt suited my skills most astutely, and the rest was up to my work ethic. As I implied earlier, I have some familial ties to the ME, so I actually grew up speaking Arabic, being lucky enough to visit Beirut and Amman in times of peace and prosperity, and attending a Lebanese/Syrian Christian church stateside. I also learned how to speak Spanish and am currently teaching myself Russian.

I decided that because of my linguistic skills, my understanding of other cultures, my skills with an M9 since I was 16 and my relatively high IQ I would become a CI Special Agent. I quickly learned that was a pipe dream and a half. But then, I read an amazing book about these guys that rode into Afghanistan just a month after 9/11 on horseback, hooked up with some CIA paramil Officers and rallied together the Northern Alliance. In my heart, I have been a Green Beret since then. But I know that my brain alone will not get me there, and that the physical challenges are beyond taxing.

Also, I think that running special operations in destinations around the globe sounds significantly more exciting and less soul-sucking than grueling away at a PhD in Strategic Intel or Forensic Psychology for 3 years immediately.