Dad, You’re on a List

My son, Hans, sometimes tells me stories of his youth without any warning. He did that today. He is a combat vet from the most recent Iraq War (deployed there in 2011). I’m a veteran too, but I am Cold War vintage. Anyway, out of the blue, he started telling me about how he enlisted in the Army back in 2009.

Hans said that his recruiter wanted him to meet and have dinner with their “liaison.” Hans did not realize until later that the liaison was in the FBI and Hans was meeting with him for a background check. Apparently, every 19 Kilo (armor crewmember for Abrams tanks) needs a secret clearance. Hans figured out that the session was going to be an interview when the FBI guy opened up a folder.

Hans asked him, “Do you mind if I get a beer?”

The interviewer said, “Go ahead.”

Hans asked him, “Are you buying?”

The FBI guy said that he would.

So, Hans was drinking beer while answering questions. Apparently, he answered them all to the satisfaction of his interrogator. There came one last question from the man with the folder:

“This isn’t really a red flag, but what’s the deal with your dad?”

Hans wasn’t expecting that one. He explained to the FBI official that he didn’t know what the deal was. He also made it clear to his questioner that he was not his dad.

The guy closed up his folder and said, “It’s okay. I just have to ask these questions.”

It should be noted at this point that I got involved in the antiwar movement just prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. I did that partly to keep Hans from going to war, which he did anyway. I stayed active in the movement even after Hans enlisted and got deployed. I am still connected with antiwar groups, although it’s now in a more peripheral way.

Hans has told me repeatedly over the years, “Dad, you’re on a list.”

I guess I matter enough that the government has a file on me.

_____________________________

Frank Pauc is a former Army aviator, a longtime trucking-company supervisor, and a contributor to The Havok Journal. A West Point graduate from the Class of 1980, he completed the Military Intelligence Basic Course and flight school, served with the 3rd Armored Division in West Germany and the 7th Infantry Division at Fort Ord, and left the Army in 1986. He later taught citizenship classes through Voces de la Frontera in Milwaukee, took part in peace and protest work, and writes largely about veterans, family, grief, and the long aftermath of military service.

As the Voice of the Veteran Community, The Havok Journal seeks to publish a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive subjects. Unless specifically noted otherwise, nothing we publish is an official point of view of The Havok Journal or any part of the U.S. government.