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Callie R. Oettinger, callie@o-a-inc.com
Ph: 703-451-2476, Fax: 703-451-6870

About the Author

Brandon Friedman was born in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1978.  He graduated from Louisiana State University in Shreveport in 2000, earning a degree in history. 

Upon graduation, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army, trained as an infantry officer, and assigned to the renowned 101st Airborne Division. He completed the Infantry Officer Basic Course, and the Airborne and Air Assault courses.

Only weeks after 9/11, Friedman was sent with his rifle platoon to Pakistan, and later, Afghanistan, where he led his men into the Shah-e-Kot Valley to engage Taliban and al Qaeda fighters as part of Operation Anaconda in March 2002.

A year later, Friedman commanded a heavy weapons platoon during the invasion of Iraq. He led troops during major combat operations in Hillah and Baghdad, and later in counter-insurgency operations in the area around Tal Afar. Friedman eventually left the country in late 2003, having spent the latter half of the year as a rifle executive officer managing troop movements, security issues, and logistics in one of the most dangerous areas of northern Iraq.

He was awarded two Bronze Stars for his service in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Friedman left the Army in 2004 and began graduate work studying public policy and administration in the School of Economic, Political, and Policy Sciences at the University of Texas at Dallas. He earned his master’s degree in Public Affairs in 2006.

Writing under the pseudonym “The Angry Rakkasan,” Friedman’s other work has been featured on the popular political blogs “Daily Kos,” “No Quarter,” and “ePluribusMedia.”  He has also written for the Shreveport Times, The Texas Blue, and been a guest on Air America Radio.

In June 2007, Friedman was named a Senior Advisor to VoteVets.org and hired as the Executive Editor of its forthcoming political/military blog.

Friedman lives in Dallas, Texas.