John F. Mullins joined the U.S. Army in 1960 and served three tours in Vietnam with the Special Forces, initially as a medic and then as an "A" Team XO and CO, and as a SOG Operative after being commissioned in 1964. After retiring in 1981, he has worked as a "for-hire soldier," conducting security and antiterrorism operations in such hot spots as Bogota, Colombia, Beirut, and Belfast. He lives in Oklahoma.