The following article is being published as Veteran’s Day, November 11, nears.  This interview with Air Force Veteran, Rodger Koopman, of Raleigh was done by phone on October 24, 2010.

I first met Koopman in 2006, when he ran for Wake County Commissioner against Paul Coble.  Although he was endorsed by just about every PAC and news outlet, Paul Coble won the election.  Koopman, a native of the Netherlands, was a newcomer to the Triangle area, and Coble exploited his recent move to the area in TV ads.

Koopman and his supporters regrouped, and he ran successfully to a district seat on the Raleigh City Council the following year.  However, that success was short-lived, as he lost his re-election bid in 2009 to a former representative for the District, John Odom.

This is from Koopman’s Campaign Bio:

 “He was born and raised in the Netherlands by parents who barely survived the Holocaust and who were liberated by American and Canadian GIs (his father Herman is briefly mentioned in Anne Frank's diary). Thus Rodger was raised with an idealistic view of the United States.”

“In the late seventies Rodger immigrated here in pursuit of the American Dream.”

“Young and poor, like many in the 1980’s, Rodger joined the US Air Force in 1983--in part so he could improve himself, and in part to pay back the country that saved his parents and other family members. At the time he had a high school diploma and six college credits.”

“He joined at the lowest enlisted rank of E-1. Through hard work and dedication, three and a half years later Rodger had an Associate's degree, a Bachelor's degree, and a class date to enter the Air Force officer training school.”

“During his last assignment Rodger was stationed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as the aide and executive officer to the General in charge of the US counter-terrorism program in South-West Asia (comprising all the Arabian countries and the Horn of Africa).”

“Rodger worked with all the US embassies in the region and dealt with highly classified material pertaining to counter-terrorism and regional threat assessments. He also liaised with various intelligence agencies including the CIA.”

“Rodger obtained two Master's degrees while on active duty. He has a Master's of Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma and a Master's of Science in Computer Information Systems from Boston University.”

Now retired from the Air Force and no longer in public office, Koopman is concentrating his efforts on building his business endeavors, and he travels frequently on business trips across the US and beyond. 

He is a thoughtful and well-read individual.  He is also unafraid to speak his mind.

Koopman on the wars and the 2010 Election

I was seeking just that sort of person with whom to discuss the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan during the Mid-term election season, and Rodger granted me an interview.  Rodger spoke as a retired Air Force captain, and as the husband of a National Guard officer.

Rodger said of the election then, “The majority of the public is only listening to sound bites.”

[fomer President George] Bush, [former Vice-president Dick] Cheney, and [former Secretary of State Condoleeza] Rice are criminals and traitors, and they should be in jail for what they did to our country. “

“The amount of money it has cost us for these wars, well, many more Democrats should have stood up to Bush, “ said Koopman.

“[President Barack] Obama has the very best guys in charge of this thing—Patraeus is the most qualified guy we can put in there.  We neglected Afghanistan for four years, while we were focused on Iraq instead.    

“The Chief asked for 300-400,000 troops for Afghanistan. That’s why they fired the Army Chief of Staff during the lead up to Iraq,” Koopman continued.

It was the Republicans in Congress that got him fired, and Senator Richard Burr was in the U. S. Senate at the time that this happened according to Koopman.

When asked about the importance of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” issue for the front line warriors, Koopman replied that DADT is just a wedge issue the GOP is using to fire up its voting base.

Koopman said he was much more interested in who is going to do the right thing in Afghanistan.  He said the military leadership is focused on the mission, and rightly so.  But their focus is on how to win but not the cost or the long-term commitment of troops required to get a military victory.

He said Obama is really smart, but the President realizes this conflict cannot be an “open-ended” commitment.  There are simply not the resources of $2 Trillion, like is now being spent in Iraq.

Koopman said, “It is just insane to think we can continue on the path we are now on.  It really is about how you vote on bills [once elected], not what you say to voters [during the campaign for office]."

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