Joseph Kopser volunteered to serve in Iraq. Convinced the Bush administration did not have a plan to succeed there, he hoped to be part of a plan that would succeed. He helped organize elections to replace the old regime. Those elections were not a solution. Genuine elections turned out to be impossible. So he sought combat. He joined the First Cavalry Division, fought, and lost friends in Iraq and Afghanistan. He carried on, dismayed with America's leadership in the war. When he returned home and to civilian life, he co-founded a technology company (for commuter navigation), served as CEO, sold it to Daimler Benz. Not long after that, he turned to politics.