EVANSTON — “The Army was the least likely to put me on a ship,” Evanston veteran James “Jim” Hirt told the Herald. “And I get seasick,” added Hirt, a native Californian whose father was a Navy officer in the Pacific during World War II. 

“I was a kid in high school — I was 17 and my parents had to co-sign for me,” he said. “I didn’t pay that much attention, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do.”

He said he enlisted with an open contract assignment — without a specified job selection — a month before the end of the Vietnam War in March of 1975.

At the end of basic training that June, Hirt learned he was assigned to become military police (MP).  That first enlistment period lasted just over three years, serving a year at Siegelsbach, Germany, at a “special weapons” facility, followed by an assignment at Stuttgart, Germany, for the remainder of his initial contract.

Hirt returned to his hometown, Santa Monica, in 1979, and began using his G.I. Bill to study for a psychology degree at Loyola Marymount University. He also became a civilian police officer, committing to what would become a lifelong career in law enforcement.

In 1988, Hirt found himself in need of an extension of tuition benefits and enlisted in the California National Guard, which was essentially inactive until 1990.

“The Gulf War kicked off and the military decided we need a lot of people because they were expecting a large ground war. I was told ‘You’re being mobilized,’ and I wasn’t particularly happy about it, but it was my responsibility.”

During the initial southwest Asia campaign, Hirt was stationed in Kuwait for seven months.

“We moved convoys and POWs (prisoners of war) — the infantry would capture them, or they would surrender and we would hand them over to the Saudis; we performed RACO (rear area combat operations) and just performed the duties of the military police.” 

“We won the 100-hours war,” Hirt said.

By early 1991, the Gulf War was over and Hirt returned home, deciding to remain in the service to earn a 20-year retirement.

“The war is over. The Warsaw Pact is gone. The [Berlin] Wall is down. The communist/Soviet block fell. We’re at peacetime. It’s a great time to stay in the Guard and retire,” he said.

It was during the interim between the Gulf War and Operation Iraqi Freedom that Hirt transitioned from a military cop with the California National Guard to a protective services unit as a National Reservist, an assignment that required an upgraded top-secret clearance.

He provided security to the upper-tier-ranking Department of Defense dignitaries — such as the Secretary of the Army and the Joint Chiefs of Staff — during an array of public events including a NATO Summit.

“You’re responsible for keeping others safe from being killed or kidnapped or embarrassed,” Hirt said.

When the United States invaded Iraq in March 2003, Hirt was assigned as a personal security officer (PSO) to Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, the operation’s top-ranking coalition commander during the initial combat operations in Iraq, which included the capture of Saddam Hussein.

“It’s very stressful because a lot of people wanted to kill him,” Hirt said of his role in protective services. “It’s like riding a tiger — eventually you’re going to get eaten.”

During his first deployment to Iraq, Hirt was also sent to Abu Ghraib prison, west of Baghdad, for three months to assist with the investigation of prisoner abuse and war crime allegations.

Hirt was later assigned to the FBI office at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad during a second deployment to Iraq from 2009-10, serving on a task force to identify counter terrorists and bring suspects to the Iraqi court system to face justice.

A final excursion to the Middle East in 2011-12 was served at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan “supervising people working on criminal cases,” Hirt said.

Hirt retired as a military operations officer with the rank of Chief Warrant Officer 4 in December 2015 with more than 34 years of service. A civilian retirement as a special agent supervisor with the Department of Justice soon followed in July 2017.

On discovering Evanston, Hirt told the Herald, “I passed through here en route to Douglas, Wyoming, and fell in love with the town.”

Hirt moved here in 2023.

“The people and the community here, compared to L.A., is the selling point for me,” he said.

Hirt currently works part-time at the front desk at the Evanston Rec Center. He enjoys hiking and working out.

“I think it’s a good option for young people,” Hirt said of the military. “It makes you grow up fast and introduces you to a variety of people. You get to see the world, not necessarily the nicest parts of the world, but there’s growth there and you gotta roll with the punches.”