buzzell grew up in san ramon, california and enlisted in the united states army at the age of 26. prior to joining the u.s. army he described his life as engaging in a lot of drinking, drug use, dead-end jobs and a minor criminal record. he was very optimistic about his army service and was determined to follow the army recruiting slogan of "be all that you can be". he joined the service as an infantryman and spent 2003 - 2004 in iraq, assigned to a stryker brigade combat team. in his book he expresses a great deal of enthusiasm about the benefits of wheels over traditional treaded armor in urban settings.