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Batalona put in 20 years, the point at which many "lifers" retire. In 1994, he left the Rangers as the global machinery that would one day return him to war -- albeit as a civilian -- was clanking to life.

Going private

In 1992, Brown & Root, a Texas company, had won a $9 million contract from the Pentagon, then run by Dick Cheney. The company studied how private companies might replace American soldiers in combat zones, freeing troops from mundane jobs such as cooking and hauling supplies so they'd be able to fight.

The Soviet Union had collapsed, and militaries that had been on both sides of the Cold War were shedding troops. Smaller conflicts that had been suppressed by the superpowers began flaring, creating a market for advisers to Third World armies and providers of equipment and security.

The stage was set for private contractors to fill that niche in the 1980s, when political leaders, notably British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and President Reagan, promoted privatizing military functions as well as other government work.

After completing its study, Brown & Root -- a division of Halliburton -- started bidding for, and winning, huge contracts under the Clinton administration.

When Batalona left the Army at Fort Stewart, Ga., he joined a pool of 9 million former soldiers in the United States and the former Soviet Union who found themselves in the civilian job market, often with skills good for little except soldiering.

The decorated combat veteran took a job with a pawnshop.

Batalona, his wife, June, and their daughter, Kristal, stayed in Georgia for six years, until Kristal entered Georgia Southern University. Then the older Batalonas returned to their native Hawaii.

Many people had moved away. Most of their neighbors and many relatives worked in the hotels. Soon, both Batalonas had joined them: June got an afternoon job turning down beds at one hotel, and Batalona took a job as a night security guard at another.

Each evening, he commuted to the Hilton Waikoloa Village, once billed as the most expensive resort in the world to construct. Locals call it "Disneyland" because of touches such as the motor yachts that gurgle into the lobby on a man-made river to ferry guests around the complex. Futuristic, 90-passenger commuter-style trams come through the lobby, and there are huge Asian-themed sculptures, including a life-size bronze of a Thai royal carriage complete with six horses.

Batalona wanted to do more. The former Ranger who had fought in three conflicts was reduced to running off local kids trying to sneak a swim and smiling at the tourists even when his feet were sore.

His father, who was ill, needed money quickly to keep the bank from foreclosing on his house, Ka'ai Batalona said. Other relatives said Batalona, who often informally counseled local kids, also hoped to start a program to help troubled teens.

For either or both, he needed money. Last fall, through his network of former soldiers, he heard of a way to get it.

In early October 2003, he took a job with Vinnell helping to train the new Iraqi army. He picked up new friends, including a younger former Ranger named Jerry Zovko.

The Vinnell contract fell apart, though, and after about a month, Batalona flew home to Hawaii. He wasn't there long.

"Jerry's still there," he told friends. "I've got to get back."

By February, he was back in Baghdad, working for Blackwater USA. And working, again, with Zovko.

SOURCE NOTES

Chapter 2 of "The Bridge" is based on information from these sources:

Batalona family life in Hawaii and Wesley Batalona's childhood: interviews with Wesley Batalona's sister Uilani Shibata, his wife, June Batalona, his brother Ka'ai Batalona and his former supervisor, Presley Hart.

Wesley Batalona's military career: Army personnel records; interviews with June Batalona, Ka'ai Batalona, Uilani Shibata and former Army Green Beret Jeff Goddard.

Batalona's work at the Hilton Waikoloa Village: tour of hotel by reporter Jay Price; interviews with Hart and June Batalona.

Contractors in the first gulf war and the 1992 Brown & Root study contract: "Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry," by P.W. Singer.

Batalona's life after the Army: Interviews with June Batalona, Shibata and Hart.

Batalona at Vinnell: Interviews with June Batalona and Tom Zovko, Jerry Zovko's brother.

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