Conklin enlisted in the United States Army at age 17 , having been inspired to do so by the September 11 attacks . He entered Basic Training at Fort Benning , Georgia in 2003 and was stationed at Fort Campbell , Kentucky Ryan was an infantryman in the 187th Infantry Regiment ( United States ) , 3rd Brigade of the famed 101st Airborne Division . In 2005 , he deployed with the division to Iraq , guarded Saddam Hussein at his trial in Baghdad , but his company spent most of their year deployment patrolling Tikrit and experienced a number of near-death experiences from IEDs , drive-by shootings , VBIEDs , suicide bomber , and a sniper . During his time on '' The Real World '' , it was also revealed that he suffered attacks of posttraumatic stress as a result of his tour of duty . He was honorably discharged in 2006
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Ryan A. Conklin