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Yeah, September 11 happened and all my friends were like, 'Let's join the military!' and I was the only one who actually did.

I joined the army after 9/11, after the Iraq war was started. I joined in part because I wanted to go fight on the front lines.

I was living near the Twin Towers on 9/11, so I saw the attacks, and I had friends who were killed in the attacks.

Upon graduation from high school, following my brother by a couple of years, I joined the U.S. Air Force.

Eleven days before 9/11, I was on a plane with the 9/11 hijackers who were carrying out a dry run.

I must have been one of the least surprised people on earth on September 11. I felt very braced for that. I knew something like that was going to come.

In my teens, I joined the Parachute Regiment. I jumped out of lots of airplanes, as much as the Government budget would allow us to. I did two active tours of duty: Northern Ireland, and then the Falklands war.

For weeks after 9/11 you could smell the dust and pulverised concrete in New York, and the National Guard came in, so there was a military presence on the streets. It was intense. Overwhelming. Heartbreaking.

While shooting 'The Unit', I went to the Middle East twice to see the troops. I met some great men and women.

At an early age, I quit high school at 17 and joined the Air Force.