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In 1996 he began working as a correctional officer at the Delaware County Prison, ( Delaware County, Pennsylvania) became a Lieutenant after a period of time and ran the Emergency Response Team. In 2000 he got married to a woman who had 2 sons (ages 16 months and 3yrs old) Who lived in deplorable condition. In 2003 still working in corrections, he decided to pick up a very high paying contract with the Department of Defense in Kosovo. Stationed at Camp Monteith (Serbian Border) He returned in 2004 and began working in the cable TV industry as a lineman. Not being what he wanted, 

In 2005 he was contacted by a company man who offered him a position paying 6 figures, as a PSD (Protective Security Detail) Team Leader, in Iraq. In early 2006, he deployed for Iraq. he accepted the contract in Iraq because he wanted to buy a house for his wife and her children... In July 2006 he was returning from Taji, Iraq, he was in a 3 vehicle convoy, heading back to the baghdad hotel...his compound, ...he hit an IED. The explosion was comparable to that of a claymore mine. he was in the passenger seat, or shotgun seat of an armored GMC ...It was his vehicle that was hit. The explosion hit his door and window, and rocked the vehicle. . ...........that was a good day because nobody died. 

Several weeks later August 6, 2006 at 1236 pm while driving down Saddoon st, downtown Baghdad, again in 3 GMC’s … he was in the rear vehicle. Escorting a client to the Al Sadeer hotel compound from the Baghdad hotel... what typically would be a 15 minute drive or so….turned into a nightmare. The team just crossed over a roundabout and Michael noticed that the entire street on that side of the road was empty...like a ghost town, no vehicles, no people walking .. and out of nowhere Michael and his team were ambushed. hit by the Mahdi Army.. word is that they were holding up underneath of the 14th of July bridge. 

 

Several days later Michael received a “dear john” letter from his wife.

Michael returned from Iraq, hoping to see his sons at the airport waiting for me him ……...When he walked off of the plane and into the terminal…..it was just her. no kids. Michael and his wife talked for awhile and he told her that since he bought the house that he was going to stay there until he found a new place to live. The rage and hurt and anguish that had built up inside over the years, kept him warm at night and comfortable…. his life became a living hell, He cursed God and hated even himself. He couldn’t accomplish anything. He tried suicide twice. He tried to eat a bullet, drugs, and booze. He couldnt hold a job…He had family members, friends and neighbors telling him to “get over it”, “you are home now, let it go and move on”, “Did you kill anyone?”. “it is f***ed up that our boys are there…..i dont support it at all” well as you can imagine..that messed my head up even more and eventually his wife didnt want to wait for him to find a place to live so kicked him out. 

 

The next 4 years, he spent trying to figure his life out, no home, no job, no money, no nothing… In 2011, he then met a female friend, on facebook who he began talking to about everything, and who has a special needs daughter, and she told Michael that the daughter was being sexually abused by her biological father. Michael felt a strong protective bonding connection with this young lady. They live in Canada. So yes, Michael went to Canada, and his hopes were to protect this girl and to free this girl. He realized that the mother needed money to obtain an attorney and to pay for evaluations, and other associated expenses… So, In 2011 Michael signed on with another contract but this one was in Afghanistan working a Static post at the NIU in Kabul with Department of Justice. That contract ended in 2012… during his tour there… a pretty quiet one for the most part, he worked with the DEA, RCMP, AFGHAN POLICE, US Marshals, and DHS at the NIU Compound. When he returned from Afghanistan, he returned to Canada where she was….. He did not have a visa, no job....back on the street.  

In May of 2013 Michael returned to the USA to try to see his sons. Nowhere to go...he stayed with his father. That lasted for about 4 months and then he moved in with one of his sisters. Still could not find a job, could not earn his keep so he tried again to take his life...and failed ..and that made things for him worse because he felt like he was nothing but a failure…he even failed at giving up… pathetic! 

People tell their opinion of what they would do if they were in Iraq… that Killing a person is easy “fuck it, it is you or them”, they say. And then there are those that compare what he did and saw in Iraq …..to a car accident, and how someone died or how Rape is the same thing as being in Iraq ….they both cause PTSD… Michael hated himself and who he was, what he did and what he has become. The Nightmare and the face of a 14 yr old boy with an AK on saddoon st. on August 6th 2006 at 1236 pm appears to him every night...since that day… he makes Michael shoot him in the head again and again. ALL of that….has tainted him and he had come to the realization that, he didn't know what he was supposed to do with his life. He didn't feel like he belonged anymore to anything.....He felt that he should have died in Iraq and sometimes.....he wished he did.

 

He decided to run with "boots2boots" (Boots2Boots was a mission....Michael and I walked across the USA to spread the word about disabled veterans and about safety of ourselves) because of the incidents in Iraq. Michael knew there were people out there...to help… He had just lost all hope...literally, this journey has given him reason to want to not give up. This journey has given him a reason to help people...even if just one person. And being that his faith in civilian life has dwindled away to nothing….. Who knows, maybe that is why God brought me into Michael's life.... guess maybe that is Gods way of showing Michael that there is a purpose for him.

 

That is where I came into the picture. Michael suffers from TBI (Traumatic Brain Disorder) and Severe PTSD.  We both were so passionate about this walk and pushing it like I do. This walk is began to restore Michael's faith and his belief in human beings.

 

Michael and I started Physec Compliance Group LLC to help people....to help others. If we could do this for free...we would. If you guys are interested in learning more about Physec Compliance Group, LLC click the link and be sure to follow my blog

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