This regular feature will profile a soldier that is either currently serving or has recently served in the military to give you, the reader, a closer look into the lives of the men and women who fight; they’re a lot more than just a potential casualty or statistic — they’re real live people just like you and me.

Geoff Millard served 9 years in the military. He’s friends with strippers, loves Star Wars and Rage Against the Machine, and has an adorable beagle named Resistance. He was a Sergeant in Iraq. Geoff is currently the president of the DC Chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War, a strategic organization based on three points of unity - immediate withdrawal of all occupying forces, full care for veterans when they come home, and reparations for Iraqis.

Name: Geoff Millard

Age: 27

Birthday: 12/18/1980

Hometown: Washington, DC

Branch: New York Army National Guard

Rank: Sergeant

Years in the Military: 9

Served in: Mexico, NYC (WTC), Germany, Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar

Current Job: DC Chapter President of IVAW and reporter for truthout.org

Give us a quick bio.

I grew up in Buffalo, NY. Before I even graduated from high school I signed up to join the military. I wanted to go into the Marine Corp. I wanted to be the best. I bought that whole line of propaganda. My mom begged me in tears to talk to a National Guard recruiter instead. I went in and talked to a recruiter and he said, “Well if you join here, you get to blow shit up.” I signed up on the spot.

When I got activated for 9/11 I was there at Ground Zero and [at the same time] trying to do my studies. One day I called [my African-American studies professor] to get my assignments and he asked how I was. I told him I was good but tired. And he said, “No, no - how ARE you?” My response was skeptical to say the least- I wasn’t sure he really wanted to hear. But he insisted he wanted to know. So I said, “Well I should be at war right now. I should be killing someone. It’s fucked up that I’m not.” And he said, “I can understand that, but who do you want to go to war with?” And the fact that I couldn’t say who America’s enemy was - we’re hated so much throughout the world because of our policies - that really started a line of questioning…

So this urge to go after somebody… was there an epiphany moment that you were against the war?

It was a gradual progression. [After 9/11] being in New York and seeing all these flags- it was kind of like being in Nazi Germany. It was scary to see that much jingoism and patriotism run amuck. It was really frightening at the time. Where I grew up in my neighborhood there was a large Puerto Rican population. And every car had a Puerto Rican flag on it rockin’ out. You would go to the Irish neighborhood and everyone had an Irish flag. That’s just how it was. And to see these cab drivers in literally in a day switching and having nothing but American flags and having three or four… I talked to a cab driver once about it and he said “I have to. I can’t survive here without it.

What music did you take with you when you were on a tour of duty?

I like punk and hardcore. But I really like depressing music. I really like Harry Chapin.

I can’t really imagine that being the best morale boosting music…

To me depressing music just gets me through stuff. I also love Rage Against the Machine, they’re like my favorite band. I also really like soul… Otis Redding. The greatest love song of all time is Otis Redding “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long.”

Was there was difference to what you listened to in the military to when you were at home?

I tried to listen to things that had a wider range than just hate and anger. I saw anger all the time in Iraq. So I listened to a lot of emo like Dashboard Confessional and Alkaline Trio and stuff like that. In the gym I was always put in this Strike Anywhere CD. Actually a lot of soldiers in Iraq listen to them, especially “Sunset on 32nd Street.” The lyric

“When they broke down the door and put their guns in the face of your wife and child and as they pinned you to the floor did you say ‘Officer, I am not resisting you’ ?”

I know a lot of people listened to that before they went on house raids because they hated doing it and it kind of humanized things for them. One of my buddies was from the south and I listened to a lot of country with him. I used to think country music was only Toby Keith’s fucking dumbass and whereas Johnny Cash was a real progressive. You listen to Man in Black and there is some shit in that song!

Tell me about your tattoos.

They all represent a time in my life. They all have meaning. I have a couple of tattoos from my war experience.

What are some of your favorites?

It changes all the time. Right now I really love this DC IVAW tattoo. I was a co-founder so it really means a lot to me right now. But it changes all the time. I have 26 tattoos.

What is the most painful?

My ribs.

I‘ve heard that… What is on your ribs?

[pauses] That’s private…

Okay, fair enough.

Each of my ribs is for an ex-girlfriend. One that really broke my heart and one that showed me it was okay to have my heart broken.

I guess that makes a good segue into my next question - were you in a relationship when you overseas?

Um… no. I kind of did with one woman… It’s way too complicated to call it a relationship.

Maybe that makes this question more relevant: what are the challenges of maintaining a relationship when you’re in the military?

Any relationship, not just romantic, is really difficult to maintain. I only have one friend I had before Iraq. Our lives, while they take the same timeline they take a completely different trajectory. And when you come back people don’t understand why you’ve changed. I don’t even understand it.

Actually the next question is about the adjustment back to civilian life.

It’s really difficult. For me it was a huge struggle because I didn’t identify with the John Wayne combat experience. It’s really hard to get people to understand what you’ve went [sic] through. I felt in between worlds. I’ve wasn’t a civilian anymore. But I wasn’t the “combat veteran” either. I was changed but I didn’t know why. But I knew I was different. I didn’t know where to fit in.

Do you think that experience and feeling is common among soldiers?

I know the not fitting in is really common. I wasn’t really soothed by being with other veterans. Two of the first I met [when I got back] was a sniper and someone who was shot in the spinal cord. Fuck - I was basically a general secretary; I couldn’t relate to the combat veterans. It’s kind of embarrassing to say, but one of the few places I felt comfortable was in strip clubs. I spent thousands of dollars in strip clubs. I’ve actually become good friends with a few [strippers]. I have an article on my wall from $pread Magazine that’s a stripper’s perspective on giving a lap dance to a solider who just got back from Iraq. I keep it on my wall to remind me that there’s always a different perspective from where I’m at. I felt like I could relate to the dancers because I felt judged when I got home and I think a lot of sex workers are judged in our society for what they’re forced to do for economic reasons. I related better to sex workers than I did to soldiers in that time period.

You have done quite a few interviews, I’m sure there’s a question that comes up over and over again — what is that question?

The most redundant and the worst question is “So what was Iraq like?” Answering that question is attempting to put a year’s worth of experience into a 30-second sound bite, and I can’t do that! It sucked. That’s what Iraq was like - it sucked. Fuck man, there were sandstorms, putting up with officers that I hated, doing a mission I didn’t believe in, killing people. And let’s be honest with this too, just because I worked for a General and worked in an office and never loaded a weapon doesn’t mean I didn’t kill people. If you take part in the military right now you are assisting the killing of civilians. Period. Soldiers have to think that way. A lot of soldiers don’t like to, but I think it’s crucial. My experience in Iraq taught me that more than anything else. You can’t be part of the machine and then not take responsibility for the efforts of that machine.

What is the most common criticism or misperception of IVAW?

That we’re this small percentage of the military is the biggest criticism, and also the biggest misperception. We realize we’re actually a large percentage of the military, just most of them aren’t vocal. You know Nixon’s silent majority? We are now the silent majority!

Here’s the big picture question — Why do you do what you do?

That’s actually a really tough question now. It used to be easy. It used to be I couldn’t sleep if I didn’t. But working with IVAW has been extremely rewarding but it’s also been really tiring. Why I do it? It’s for the other veterans that need it. I had some wonderful guidance from guys like Dave Klein and Mike Hoffman and Jose Vasquez… there are younger veterans now coming back and they need someone to look to and if I can be that for just a couple of them it’s worth it. I’m actually trying to step back in my leadership role. With the enthusiasm that I see from young veterans coming into IVAW, in a couple years our organization will be 10,000 strong, not just 1,000. I am looking forward to stepping back from the hands-on stuff and being more of an advisor. I’ve been called the Yoda of IVAW and I’m a huge Star Wars geek and I’m okay with that, so to be called Yoda of IVAW is one of the biggest compliments of my entire life.

Visit Iraq Veterans Against the War online