User:WashingtonIrving

Welcome to my lame-ass page!
I'm completely new here, so this page is "under construction".

...(maybe "permanently under construction" -- Big Dig, anyone?)

Looking forward to contributing somehow to this incredible community.

My professional background is military. Academic focus in conflict management and the modern Middle East. Interested mainly in conflict prevention, COIN/unconventional warfare, refugee studies/forced migration, civil-military relations, victim advocacy, and Middle East history/culture (that was before 9/11 -- since then, not much time to study).

Please feel free to drop a note. I want to learn, and I take constructive criticism well.

If leaving non-constructive criticism: yeah, whatever, go to hell.

If leaving non-constructive but FUNNY criticism: HAAHHAHAAAAA I needed that, seriously, thanks. Back at ya!

--WashingtonIrving 01:12, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

Yossarian Lives
' Ever wonder what pisses soldiers off? Do you want to talk shop in a not-fair-and-balanced forum? Are you extremely bored? ''' Stop by the Angry American Veterans' Rant

(..... time passes..... )

'Er, never mind all that. It's a ridiculous challenge to be at once honest, insightful AND public in the military ~ at least for the last few years. Freedom may not be free, but neither is speech for us suckers in uniform who are charged w/its protection... and since humor under prolonged periods of stress tends to "gallows" brand--or another equally prone to offend--it's been best to keep my rants observations to the secure confines of pen & paper.

So I co-blog (very, very rarely) here now: ''' Army Blue- Live from Arlington & have been posting bits about the military medical maze (also rarely) at ''' Still Fighting the War At Home, a wounded-warrior blog.

Later, when health (not to mention availability of treatment!) is more stable & I'm no longer bound by a military officer's oath -- w/ its increasingly touchy interpretation -- I look forward to a more dynamic E-Life. ' In the meantime, will gladly nurture the inner nerd & attempt to keep barnacles off the brain here in WikiWorld. '' --WashingtonIrving 02:10, 6 October 2008 (UTC)