** Extracted and revised from my memoir “Surviving the United Nations,” which was peer reviewed for accuracy. This extract also appeared in Spec Ops Magazine. – RBA

—I was driving home from the gym. It was late afternoon on 29 September 2002. The sun, hanging low in the sky, was casting long shadows across the roadway. I generally worked out in the afternoon after leaving my office around 3:00 PM (my workdays began at 7:00 AM). I heard gunfire in the distance, but was unconcerned. Like in South Chicago, gunfire in Yemen’s capital city, Sana’a, is relatively common. But as I came closer to my apartment building, the noise level and rapidity of fire both increased. By now, I thought I could discern the unique sound signature of fully automatic AK-47 assault rifles.

As I turned one of the f

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