Jim is a veteran.  

Jim is a retired American diplomat who served abroad for a quarter-of a century, most of that time in undeveloped countries, including a decade in Islamic/Moslem societies:  Sicily, Turkey, Belgium, the Central African Republic, South Korea, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Algeria, Eritrea, Japan.

Much of his work involved national security activities in  in one way or another, as an embassy Security Officer, as a Hostage Negotiator, as an on-call bodyguard, in Intelligence, in Counter-Intelligence, Counter-terrorism, etc.