A small town in Wisconsin is a far cry from the civil war-ravaged fields of northern Syria. But for Jordan Matson, a former U.S. solider, the battlefield feels most like home. For the last month, Matson, 28, has been a volunteer fighter in the Kurdish militia known here as the People's Protection Units, or YPG. The group has been defending three small Kurdish statelets in northern Syria. The Kurdish militants have also spent much of the last year battling ISIS, the hardline jihadist group that wants to create an Islamic state across parts of Iraq and Syria. "Due to two years of almost no foreign policy in the region -- while these people threatened American citizens, and bring harm to us -- I think I decided enough was enough, and I decided to come out this way," Matson said.
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Jordan Matson, a former U.S. Army solider, is fighting against ISIS
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He was never in combat during two years in the U.S. military
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"Civilian life just wasn't for me," he says
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U.S. law enforcement officials say it's illegal for an American to join a Syrian militia
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"All of the American brothers that have died over there -- all the @placeholder veterans that have died over there -- and paid their lives for that country so they could have a democracy.
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But instead of ending up in @placeholder, Matson joined the YPG in Syria.
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In @placeholder, he saw action almost as soon as he arrived.
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Matson misses a few things about the @placeholder: hamburgers, toilets, rock 'n' roll.
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Yes, it does help @placeholder back home, because we're taking the fight to the enemy here, so they can't take it to us.
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But, for me, it's for the @placeholder people," Matson said.
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Matson said the @placeholder could use more support on the ground, in addition to ongoing U.S.-led airstrikes.
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Matson said the YPG could use more support on the ground, in addition to ongoing @placeholder-led airstrikes.