August 1, 2005
MBA Student Reports for
Texas
Monthly in Iraq
By Sandie Taylor
After wrapping up the first year of his MBA program at the McCombs School of Business, Jon Moss returned home May 26 to find the kind of letter few of his classmates could even fathom receiving. The envelope was from the U.S. Army, and the message inside summoned him back to war.
As a captain in the Army Reserves, this news did not come as a complete shock to Moss. He had served in Iraq for four months in 2003, which caused him to defer his enrollment at McCombs and leave his then-pregnant wife and three-year-old daughter home in Austin.
Realizing that this year-long assignment would bring many trials and extraordinary experiences, Moss approached Texas Monthly magazine and offered to write a monthly report back to his home state.
Now, in lieu of his summer internship at the Austin-based software startup, StoredIQ, and his second year of the MBA program, Moss has a completely different task at hand. In addition to his assignment to help build stability for the Iraqi people, develop their skills and consult with local government and religious leaders, he’ll be providing an insider’s look at Army life in Iraq.
“I thought it would be nice to provide a perspective from the inside as opposed to an outsider view from the media,” Moss said explaining how he got the idea to call the magazine. “Most people don’t know about the military and what’s going on. Being a native Texan, I think I’m in a good position to write for Texas Monthly and share that insight.”
Kate Rodemann, an associate editor at Texas Monthly, said she thinks readers will enjoy following Moss’ story as he trains, observes and candidly assesses his experiences.
“His story is compelling because it's a first-person, accessible account of a Texan's experience in this conflict,” she said. “With the many reports you get in the news about Iraq every day, it's easy to hold the war at arm's length and disconnect from what's actually going on over there—there's a danger in it all starting to sound the same. But Jon's story offers a personal perspective you can identify with.”
In addition, she expects that his Civil Affairs experiences will give readers a picture of the rebuilding efforts in Iraq, another topic covered infrequently.
Appearing in the August 2005 issue, Moss’ first article in the 12-part series summarizes his five years in the military and conveys his thoughts about returning to Iraq as a Civil Affairs officer.
He writes in Texas Monthly’s “I Will Soon Be a Soldier in Iraq (Again)”:
My main function will be to work with local sheiks and religious leaders to identify their communities’ needs and help them solve their problems. We’ll help train police officers and build bridges and water-cleaning and waste facilities. Right now the people of Iraq face an incredible opportunity, and with every opportunity, as we all know, comes a challenge and the possibility of failure. If I can go to Iraq and show just one village some hope, if I can keep the young men in that village from despairing and turning to the insurgency for answers, then I will have completed my mission.
His wife, Candace, said that Jon has been looking forward to getting his MBA for a long time, but the new assignment will likely extend the two-year program into four years. “It’s been hard for him to keep pushing his education back, and he was really excited about the classes he registered for this year,” she said.
Jon said the first year of business school was extremely challenging for him—in particular, learning to break out of the Army mentality. “The most important thing I learned in my first year is that there’s not a monolithic method for problem-solving,” he said in a phone interview from Fort Bragg, North Carolina. “My peers and professors at the business school taught me that there are a number of ways each problem can be solved.”
He even views his duties in Iraq as an opportunity to put some of those lessons into practice. “As a Civil Affairs officer, one of the key functions is to provide economic advice to support the foreign nation in rebuilding their society,” he said. “It would be great if I was provided an opportunity to put the education I’ve received so far to work.”
With the addition of this kind of hands-on experience to his resume, Moss should be ready to tackle whatever the business world throws his way.
To access “I Will Soon Be a Soldier in Iraq (Again)” online, visit
Texas Monthly Online. (Subscription required to view full article.)
For information on specific programs at the McCombs School, consult our contacts page. For media information, contact the Communications Director by phone at 512-471-3314 or by email at CommunicationsDirector@mccombs.utexas.edu.
