Hullabalog is pleased to profile Daniel Villareal ‘91. Daniel was a member of the S-2 Marauders, graduated with a degree in History and manages data networks for the U.S. Army in Afghanistan, working for Computer Science Corporation. Daniel has a great story to share. Enjoy. ♦
Did you ever imagine you would be working in Afghanistan?
No, not at all. While in the Cadet Corps I had signed a contract with the Marine Corps for a PLC course through Bulldog, which I lost at first because I let women and other things get in the way of making grades. I worked hard for a year and got my contract back my Senior year. Shortly thereafter I was involved in an Auto/Pedestrian accident the injuries resulting caused the Marine Corps to release me from my obligation to serve which left me without a “job”. I spent 9 months in the hospital after which I went back to school. For my PLC requirements I had taken all of the upper level management courses required for a B.A. in Business Management and was going to obtain a business degree, but my poor preparation in math made that prospect difficult and “extended” my stay in College Station to the point that I just got tired of it and re-thought my prospects, and decided upon the shortest path to graduation which was to finish the remaining hours on my History degree.
So how does a History major get a job managing data networks? After graduating with a B.A. in History I was left to try to find a niche into which I fit. This was difficult as I’m not the “teacher” type and that was definitely NOT a field of interest for me. I bounced around from “manager trainee” position to “manager trainee” position until my best friend from HS got me a job working with the Olympic and Paralympic games in Atlanta in 1996. While working and living in Atlanta for the year, some friends of ours introduced me to the computer field and the monetary boon that was available (at that time) so I decided to take out some more student loans and go get Microsoft Certified. I did not get far in the certification process because the companies that I worked for were small and had small training budgets, etc. but for the same reason I was exposed to a large number of other experiences in the I.T. field that I would not have been exposed to at larger companies where people are placed in and restricted to small niches. (In late 2007)… CSC asked me to come to Afghanistan to manage the data networks.
Had you been out of the country prior to this position?
Well the day after Final Review, the S-2 Marauder class of 1991 went on a Senior Trip to Terlingua, Texas and spent a week floating down the Rio Grande River, during which we “unofficially” crossed in to Mexico, just long enough to plant the Texas Flag. Other than that I’d never left the country. The first “other” country I’d ever been to outside the continental United States was Ireland, where we had a 4 hour lay-over on our way to Kuwait when I started working with KBR in June 2003.
So now you are in Kuwait…
I spent one month in Kuwait, then convoyed up to Baghdad, Iraq where I worked for KBR starting as an I.T./Communications Technician. I worked in Iraq for KBR for 2 years and 4 months leaving as I.T./Communications Manager with LOGCAP III HQ at Camp Victory. I left KBR to go to work for Computer Science Corporation on a Biometrics project that was then being started up in Iraq in 2005. At the time it was a sizeable decrease in pay, but the job required that I obtain a Security Clearance which is quite valuable, especially in the I.T. industry, so the move was well worth it. I started with the Biometric Identification for Secure Access (or B.I.S.A.) project as an Installation/System Administrator. After our ten sites were setup I became the System Administrator at Camp Anaconda (Balad, Iraq). Four months later I was promoted to Manager of System Administrators. I worked on the Biometrics project for two years leaving the project in September of 2007. I was home for a few months before CSC asked me to come back to Kuwait on a Data Center installation, though en route to Kuwait they changed their minds and asked me to come to Afghanistan to manage the data networks at a new installation on the border with Pakistan. I have been in this position since Feb. 2008.
Surely people want to know, is it scary working in Afghanistan?
For me, not really. The Auto/Pedestrian accident I mentioned earlier occurred in College Station, my favorite place on the planet. The accident occurred 0137hrs. 14Sept1991. I died and was resucetated five times (twice at the scene of the accident, once in route to the Hospital and twice during the emergency surgeries at the Hospital that morning). Since that time I have been of the opinion that if death can find me in such a place as CS, then it does not matter where I go, nor what I do, it will find me again at the appointed time. I have been in some close scrapes since I’ve worked in Iraq and here in Afghanistan but do not get overly concerned with it. Of course my perspective on the subject is QUITE different than most…
What is something you like about being in Afghanistan that most people would be surprised to hear?
Not sure that it would be surprising to most people but as my “intended” career was in the military, I feel quite at home here with my job working so close with the military. I have enjoyed meeting the many and varied peoples of the various cultures/countries that I’ve been able to visit while working overseas, which is something that I would never have been able to do without having had the opportunity to work over here.
Do you work primarily with other Americans?
The particular facility that I work at is a Coordination center for monitoring activity along the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan, so I work with U.S. Military, Pakistan Army/Pakistan Frontier Corps and Afghan National Army and Afghan Border Police personnel. The numbers vary depending on the time of year and rotation of units. It is quite a conglomeration of peoples and cultures, which is one of the reasons I enjoy working here.
What is the pace of business there? NY fast, West Texas slow?
It changes daily. Generally the pace is West Texas slow, but when missions are ongoing then it shifts to light speed, so you have to be extremely flexible.
What was it like living there during the latest U.S. elections?
Not much different, though I’d be the wrong person to ask questions concerning such matters. I’ve lost faith in our method of selecting our leaders, and have lost faith in “most” of the leaders themselves. We have become a decadent people who are quite narrow minded and the only concern I have in that area is that our current mindset may lead to our downfall.
Afghanistan is in the middle of a disputed election and Iraq’s elections are coming up in January. Share your thoughts as an American with significant exposure to both, in addition to US elections.
My opinion on the elections here and on the elections in Iraq are complicated. I know people who get extremely frustrated that the process does not seem to be “working” but in their defense, I would remind those people that we (Americans) have been “practicing” democracy some 230 odd years and we still don’t have it quite right either, as I would be willing to bet a months salary that you would not find that every American in America or around the world is 100% entirely satisfied with our process. I sorta follow the late George Carlin’s thoughts on the matter of our political leadership. It’s not as if these people (our political leadership) dropped out of the sky from Mars. For the most part they were born in America, they went to American schools and Universities, so maybe the problem isn’t the politicians but Americans themselves. We have become a quite lazy and decadent people, with short attention spans. We (for the most part) require incentives to serve in the institutions such as the military, and require ASSURANCE of protection against “retaliation” for doing “the right thing” otherwise we’ll happily allow the wrong thing to continue to occur. We have over the past 50 some odd years lost something. What that something is I don’t know, but it was a great something, and it pains me to see what we look like to peoples from other nations around the world because I see it too. As for the electoral process and participants both here and in Iraq, well it will take a great deal of time for these peoples to work out the process, to refine it to a manner that works best for them, and fits in with their culture and heritage. And it may well be that what works out best for them in the end is not at all like our system and may not be at all something we like, but we must remember that this is “another” country not America and it is there country to do with as they please.
Daniel, thanks for sharing your thoughts and your story. Last question – What’s the first meal you’re going to have when you get back to Texas?
It varies greatly. Generally, just prior to R&R, I make out a list of the restaurants I plan to visit and have them scheduled by days so that I’m sure to hit them all. But, for the most part, when I have a “craving” it is generally Whataburger that I ”crave” most…
