Randy Brown embedded with his former Iowa Army National Guard unit as a civilian journalist in Afghanistan from May to June 2011. In 2015, he authored the poetry collection Welcome to FOB Haiku: War Poems from Inside the Wire, published by Middle West Press. His often-humorous work has appeared widely in literary print and on-line publications. Writing as “Charlie Sherpa,” he blogs about military literature and culture at: www.redbullrising.com.