
After much thought and discussion we have come to our decision regarding the finalists, Ken Martin and Bruce Reges, they will both be heading to Iraq with me, Doc Parsons. It makes the most sense and we all feel it will improve the overall scope of this project.
We will be leaving from Washington, DC at the end of May and we are slated to return in the first week of August. During our expedition we will be collecting images, interviewing troops and blogging for the website, all of which will be a regular feature on Maxim.com and in their upcoming "Military" tab. In addition, we will be assisting Ken Martin in complete his project of creating a calendar of deployed service members for his company, USA Cheerleaders. We are very excited to have two highly qualified individuals and are honored to have them as a part of our team for the project, The Graffiti of War.
For those that haven't met our team, I have listed all of us with a short bio below:
Jaeson "Doc" Parsons: Director of project operations and founder of The Graffiti of War Project. Doc deployed with the 54th Engineer Battalion in 2006 to Ar Ramadi, Iraq, Anbar Province. Doc created the Graffiti of War in the spring of 2010 and with the help of his wife, Melissa and his partner, Jason Deckman; he has brought this project from an interesting concept to a viable and successful project.
Ken Martin: Executive Director of USA Cheerleaders, Ken has piloted his company to a very successful organization with far reaching influences. He has worked with organizations such as Wounded Warriors, the USO and Operation Home Coming. His company has participated in dozens of high level charity events across the country.
Bruce Reges 1SG (ret.): Bruce is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, deploying to the Diyala Province from 2007 to 2008 as 1SG. In addition, he was attached to the State Department as an education expert due to his position as adjunct Professor at Ferris State College. He also has a background in art as well as an extensive, high level of knowledge within the theater of operations, Iraq.
We are extremely proud of our team and are very excited looking forward to the next few weeks and months prior to the departure for the expedition. We have our work cut out for us and there is much to do in the weeks ahead. However, we are confident in our supporters and in our team working behind the scenes to ensure this project is a success. In our next update, I will be featuring the skills and talents of the extensive support staff we have working with us, some of which include those listed in our Top SE7EN finalists. Be sure and check out our next update coming in the next few days.
As always, we appreciate the continued and generous support of our fans. Without your help, both in funding and ideas, we would not be able to complete this project. We are forever grateful for what you have done and continue to do. We have a tough road ahead, but we take solace in the fact that we have such dedicated and supportive fans to help us through it. Thank you all so very much.
Always Forward!
Jaeson "Doc" Parsons