Baghdad FTU: The True Story of a Contractor on the Battlefield

Behind the battle lines and often on the frontlines, contractors on the battlefield are there to support U.S. troops on the ground. It's dangerous, important and often unrecognized, but these brave men and women know just how important their jobs are to the success of the war effort.

Ex Special Forces with hazardous duty in northern Iraq, now a private service provider who handles communications author Al Matheny details his 10 deployments as a civilian contractor over 43 months into dangerous places across the globe after 9/11. He takes military buffs behind the lines of top-secret military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kuwait, and Jordan all a part of history never before revealed.

Whether it was mounting antennas on Saddam s Palace rooftops, installing satellite dishes in the desert for the Iraqi Army or troubleshooting systems so CENTCOM could have crystal-clear voice contact with troops on the frontlines it was all in a long day's work for the BAE Systems teams.

Always the cowboy, Al figured out sometimes unconventional and innovative ways to best support the communication needs of military troops. This is his story.