So I wanted to take a couple minutes to tell a little story. This story starts all the way back in 2003 in the far away land of Iraq. For our first 5 or 6 months we moved from place to place, sometimes sleeping in our trucks. At about the 7 month mark of the deployment we settled in a location and finally had some abandoned buildings to live in. Our standard of living was on the rise. One thing the Soldiers didn't have was any furniture other than a cot. I was determined to change this. I managed to get a hold of a circular saw, a drill, a hammer, and some scrap wood. I ripped down 2 x 4s with the circular saw and built some basic shelves and nightstands. I just wanted to give these guys a little more feel of home. One Soldier looked at one of my projects and said "That is one ghetto piece of furniture"... at that moment Ghetto Furniture Inc was born. I spent the rest of that deployment making these small very basic pieces of furniture as time and wood allowed.
The story continues back in Iraq in 2005. I was back to my old stomping grounds for another year. This time the mission and resources were very different. What had not changed was the need for GFI. This time a couple of my friends joined me and we set out build. Projects ranged from office furniture and benches to framing out walls.
GFI version of "Hear no Evil, See no Evil, Speak no Evil"
Me and Shelf
Custom made benches
I also had a opportunity that year to serve as a trainer for the Iraqi Army. I not only taught them skills to help them defend their country, but also some skills to help improve it as well.
In the deployments to follow I would take every chance to put saw to wood. I think these opportunities not only allowed me to help raise the standard of living for my Soldiers but kept me focused and grounded. Woodworking is a lifesaver!
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