Corbin ReiffVerified account

Affected citizens would make the drive from as far as Lebanon on a weekly basis to see if their claims had been adjudicated.

The job was tough, almost impossible, but it was the just thing to do and helped build a bridge of trust between us and the citizenry.

I basically spent a year of my life in an aluminum trailer, away from my friends and family enduring mortar attacks nearly every night.

There was always more to do, and the stack of files and faces never dwindled. I got half a day off every two weeks.

I had to look widows and orphans in the eye as tears ran down their cheeks telling me through an interpreter their heartbreaking stories.

Every mission out into the city carried with it tremendous risk, but we had a job to do, and forcibly put that out of our minds.

In the course of my job, I was entrusted with a lot of taxpayer money, all in American cash.

As a result, we instantly became a high value target for insurgents who wanted to relieve us of said cash at one of our weekly gatherings.