Joshua Putnam was chosen to become the new AP Government teacher for the 2014-2015 school year.

Putnam was born in College Station, Texas, and then eventually moved to Norman when he was 10 years old.

“It was my dream as a kid to go to Texas A&M and play in the Aggie band, but obviously that dream changed,” Putnam said.

He attended the University of Oklahoma and majored in Criminology with a minor in history.

“I took a sociology class in high school, and found it interesting,” Putnam said.

Putnam spent 13 years in the Army after joining in September of 1999.

“Well, it all started when I skipped class one day,” Putnam said. “I was in band and I was tired of band, so a friend of mine and I went and listened to a ROTC representative speak.”

Putnam was worried about how he was going to pay for college, so he enlisted with ROTC and like it.

After enlisting, Putnam served overseas. Putnam’s official title was Combat Advisor, where it was his job to train and advise local national forces.

On his first tour overseas, Putnam worked with the Afghan army and Kurdish Peshmerga. Putnam describes his first tour as chaotic.

“We still did not know what we were supposed to do in Afghanistan because we were still focused on what was happening in Iraq,” Putnam said, “We were embedded with the local nationals.”

On his second tour, he worked the Afghan police. Putnam said that there was more distinction between the first and second tours because they were not embedded within the Afghan police.

“War is long hours of boredom and frustration, and then brief moments of adrenaline and terror for your life,” Putnam said.

Putnam definitely noticed how the army affected his life.

“I think that my mannerisms and beliefs about life come from the military,” Putnam said. “I have an appreciation for other cultures and because I can understand and appreciate the differences.”

When Putnam came back from the military, he married his wife in 2013. They had their ceremony in Ireland because they are both Irish and they really wanted to go to Ireland.

Something unique about Putnam is that he has tattoos that have meaning to him.

“I have one on my left calf. It’s a Phoenix because that was the combat advisor symbol and I like the idea of something rising from ashes,” Putnam said. “I like [tattoos] because they are an artistic impression.”