Paul Rieckhoff profile picture

Paul Rieckhoff

Frack me! Who are the final five?

About Me

I am a veteran's advocate, writer and social entrepreneur. As a younger man, I worked on Wall Street, coached high school football, and sold hot dogs in a roadside truck.Now, I am the Executive Director and Founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (the nation's first and largest non-partisan, non-profit Iraq and Afghanistan veterans group) and the author of Chasing Ghosts . I am also a blogger for Military.com and The HuffingtonPost , and occasionally appear TV and radio to run my mouth.Some consider me an authority on the war in Iraq and issues affecting troops, military families and veterans. Others just consider me a big pain in the ass. I am a staunch political independent and live in New York City's historic East Village.(In stores everywhere--click the cover now and get it on Amazon for only $10!) Add the banner above to your MySpace profile and spread the word about Chasing Ghosts! Copy the text in the box below into the 'About Me' section of your profile.

My Interests

..Rieckhoff On Hardball with Chris Matthews, March, 2007Rieckhoff vs VA Secretary Nicholson On PBS NewsHour, Feb 28, 2007 -Music (especially live music), reading, politics, football, writing/blogging, video games, people watching (especially in NYC), working out, playing basketball, Jiu-Jitsu, travel, downhill mountain biking, golf, arguing, playing with my nephew, listening to my 91-year-old grandmother tell stories, being near any kind of water, rugby

I'd like to meet:

Rick Rubin, Warren Buffett, Nelson Mandela, Bill Gates, Colin Powell, Dave Chappelle, Banksy, Yao Ming, Jay-Z, Dr. Cornell West, Chuck Palahnuik, Richard Branson, Fareed Zakaria, Marilyn Manson, Studds Turkle, Jon Stewart, Oprah Winfrey, President Jimmy Carter, Senator John McCain, Osama Bin Laden (in a dark alley), Prince, Ozzy Osbourne, Chris Rock, Eminem, Jack White, Michael J. Fox, Samuel L. Jackson, President Bill Clinton, President George Bush, Wladimir Klitschko, Willie Nelson, The Rock, Stephen Hawking, Rob and Big, Barry Diller, Bear Grylls, Bolivian President Evo Morales, Madeleine Albright, Anderson Sá, Emmanuel Jal, Mike Phillips

Music:

Drowning Pool and IAVA, "This Is For The Soldiers" VideoI like music that matters. Specifically, some of the artists that I am passionate about are:Jimi Hendrix, Tool, The Laura Thomas Band, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Bill Withers, Jay-Z, Disturbed, System of a Down, Metallica, James Brown, Wolfmother, A Tribe Called Quest, The Temptations, Eminem, B.I.G, The Jeff Healey Band, Amos Lee, G. Love, Citizen Cope, The Roots, The Doors, Gnarls Barkley, Miles Davis, Nine Inch Nails, EPMD, Gorillaz, Queens of the Stone Age, Led Zepplin, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Marley, Jack Johnson, Beethoven, Dead Prez, Mieka Pauley, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Johnny Cash, A Perfect Circle, Milo Z, Marilyn Manson, Korn, The Doobie Brothers, 2PAC, Tool, The Dave Mathews Band, Dixie Chicks, Tori Amos, Prince, Beck, Jurassic 5, Mos Def, Soundgarden, Linkin Park, Gang Starr, Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, State Radio, Ben Harper, Hank Williams Jr., Matisyahu, The White Stripes, Marvin Gaye, Michael Franti/Spearhead, Stevie Wonder, Common, Carolyn Wonderland, Beastie Boys, 311, Sublime, Mozart, Godsmack, Nirvanna, Incubus, John Legend, Jill Scott, Living Colour, Ozzy, Public Enemy, Buddy Guy, Queen and much, much more.

Movies:


The War Tapes (www.TheWarTapes.com)
When I Came Home (www.WhenICameHome.com)Gladiator, Braveheart, Requiem for a Dream, The Shawshank Redemption, Tombstone, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Fight Club, Napolean Dynamite, The Natural, Rudy, Seven, Red Dawn, Pi, The Breakfast Club, A Christmas Story, Falling Down, Murderball, The Game, Good Will Hunting, Full Metal Jacket, American History X, Motorcyle Diaries, Boyz N da Hood, Godfather, Shrek, Born on the Fourth of July, The War Tapes, Toy Story, 13 Tzameti, The Princess Bride, Forrest Gump, The Program, Invincible, Cool Hand Luke, Wall Street, The War Tapes (trailer above), When I Came Home (trailer above), Jerabek, Favela Rising

Television:

The Daily Show, Man vs. Wild, The Deadliest Catch, any kind of televised football (college or NFL), Rome, The Wire, Lost, Jeopardy, Rob and Big, Meet the Press, This Week with George Stephanopoulis, Hardball with Chris Matthews, Battlestar Galactica, Hannity and Colmes (VERY entertaining), Weeds, The Real World, Deadwood, Any UFC shows, Boxing, The L Word, SportsCenter, Inside the NFL, Chappelle Show, T-Minus Rock (or any other music video show on MTV2 or Fuse), Wildboyz, The Colbert Report, The West Wing, Da Ali G Show, Entourage, Heroes

Books:

I highly recommend Chasing Ghosts (wink, wink). .All-time favorites include The Magus (Fowles), On The Road (Kerouac), Catch 22 (Heller), The Things They Carried (O'Brien), Post Office, Ham on Rye (Bukowski), Fight Club (Palahniuk), A Prayer for Owen Meany (Irving), For Whom the Bell Tolls, A Farewell to Arms (Hemingway), The Alchemist (Coelho), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Dahl), The Iliad (Homer), Slaughterhouse-Five (Vonnegut), American Psycho (Bret Easton Ellis), Oh, the Places You'll Go! (Dr. Seuss), The Official Boy Scout Handbook

Heroes:

Paul B. Rieckhoff (my grandfather), Elizabeth Eisenger (my nana), Shad Meshad (google him), Senator Chuck Hagel, Joe Galloway, Bob Woodruff, Wesley Autrey (the amazing guy who jumped onto the subway tracks in NYC to save another man's life), Paul Bucha, Michael J. Fox, Robert Acosta, Pat Tillman, Jackie Robinson, Ann Richards, Martin Luther King Jr., Kurt Vonnegut, Senator Max Cleland, Mark Zupan, Kristen Breitweiser, JFK, Tammy Duckworth, Jon Stewart, Geoffrey Canada, Annette McLeod, Madeleine Albright, Emmanuel Jal, Mike Phillips, Senator Jim Webb, the men and women of the armed forces who serve our country worldwide, the wives, husbands and children they leave behind. And I am actively searching for new ones daily.

My Blog

VIDEO: Rieckhoff on The Tavis Smiley Show

On June 20, I appeared on PBS's The Tavis Smiley Show and discussed a wide range of issues affecting veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, including an update on the new GI Bill. Check it out ...
Posted by Paul Rieckhoff on Wed, 18 Jun 2008 02:47:00 PST

Closer each day: the GI Bill Fight Continues

I want to give you a quick update on where things stand in our fight for a new GI Bill. The bill has passed with strong bipartisan majorities in the Senate and the House of Representatives,...
Posted by Paul Rieckhoff on Fri, 13 Jun 2008 01:02:00 PST

Business as Usual: Troops Wait While Congress "Governs"

" A resolution expressing support for designation of June 2008 at "National Safety Month"" A concurrent resolution supporting the goals and ideals of the International Year of Sanitation" Mother's Day...
Posted by Paul Rieckhoff on Thu, 12 Jun 2008 04:02:00 PST

VIDEO: Rieckhoff on the "Medicated Military" from the CBS Early Show

A Time Magazine cover story claims a staggering number of troops deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan are taking anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medication. I joined CBS's Harry Smith this morning on Th...
Posted by Paul Rieckhoff on Tue, 10 Jun 2008 02:38:00 PST

The Daily Show attacks GI Bill opponents

It's crunch time. After months of work in Washington, DC and nationwide, the new GI Bill will soon sit on the President's desk and await his signature. Thanks to IAVA Member Veterans like y...
Posted by Paul Rieckhoff on Fri, 06 Jun 2008 01:30:00 PST

Nickels and Dimes: Why the White House Opposes the GI Bill

Anyone with a pulse knows that the Pentagon has a history of wasting huge sums of money. Just last week, an internal audit found that the Army squandered $8.2 billion of taxpayer money on contractors...
Posted by Paul Rieckhoff on Mon, 02 Jun 2008 10:16:00 PST

Team IAVA at Pat’s Run (to honor Pat Tillman)

I am continually inspired by the motivation of IAVA supporters who participate in local events to raise awareness for veterans' issues. I'd like to tell you about two of these events from the last mon...
Posted by Paul Rieckhoff on Thu, 29 May 2008 02:26:00 PST

CNN: IAVA’s Patrick Campbell on the new GI Bill

IAVA continues to lead the fight for a new GI Bill. Below is a must-see video from last night. IAVA's Legislative Director Patrick Campbell debates the merits of The New GIB (S.22) with an extremely ...
Posted by Paul Rieckhoff on Thu, 29 May 2008 04:09:00 PST

AUDIO CLIP: NPR’s "Here and Now"--A NEW G.I. BILL - 5/26/2008

A NEW G.I. BILLNational Public Radio"Here and Now"Story aired: Monday, May 26, 2008It offers full tuition and living expenses at a four-year state college or university to anyone who has served at lea...
Posted by Paul Rieckhoff on Tue, 27 May 2008 09:40:00 PST

75 Senators Stand With Veterans: GI Bill Passes in a Landslide

Today, three-quarters of the Senate voted to support a new GI Bill for the troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Following the 256-166 victory in the House last week, the GI Bill has achieved a...
Posted by Paul Rieckhoff on Fri, 23 May 2008 08:46:00 PST