BRUCK // ABOUT ME
About Me
Hi. I'm Tom. Here are a few things about me.
I'm married to an amazing gal whom I like to call Lady Jaye. We live together in a house that we love. She teaches semi-feral teenagers how to use verbal and written language, and I do whatever I can to support her, because she's pretty awesome.
In January of 2020, mere weeks before the outbreak of a global pandemic, we brought a Weimaraner puppy into our home. His name is Tango - military slang for "terrorist," and yes, that was deliberate - and he's been a fantastic addition to our little family. When he was younger, we enjoyed meeting friends at dog parks and schoolyards, and wandering county parks and wildlife refuges. Now that he's older, we enjoy visiting our circuit of banks and credit unions, hardware and farm stores, and the local Cabela's location. I wanted a dog of my own for about fourteen years before we brought Tango home, and he's turned out to be a phenomenal companion. Tango came to us from Owyheestar Weimaraners, and I unequivocally recommend them, if you know what you're getting yourself into.
I consider myself a devout Anglican and practicing Catholic.
When I was younger, I wanted to be a naval officer. Later, I wanted to work in the intelligence community. Basically by accident, I actually wound up becoming a pretty decent security specialist. Among my other professional credentials, I'm Certified in Governance, Risk, and Compliance (formerly a Certified Authorization Professional), a Certified Information Systems Security Professional, a Physical Security Professional, and a DoD Level II Anti-Terrorism Officer. You can view my curriculum vitae here.
I'm a 2005 graduate of Oregon State University with a BS in History and a minor in Naval Science. My studies focused on ancient, military, and Islamic history. My continuing studies focus on the First World War and the modern history of the Middle East, specifically the Sultanate of Oman. You can access a bunch of my history-related resources at HERA. I'm also a 2013 graduate of the University of Aberdeen with an MSc (with Distinction) in Strategic Studies. You can access some of my strategy-related resources at SARA.
I was born and raised in Oregon. I've lived in the United Kingdom (twice), California, Virginia (twice), and Kuwait, before landing back in Oregon. (Actually, I landed back in Oregon a couple of other times, too.) I've visited Canada, Mexico, Italy, Germany, Ireland, France, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Lebanon, and Qatar. In that time, I've developed borderline unhealthy fixations upon the Orkney islands and the Sultanate of Oman. I've been studying Arabic, intermittently, for nearly two decades, and you can access some of my Arabic language learning materials at LARA.
I write a lot. I used to keep a security blog. I continue to blog very occasionally at Beyond the Joshua Tree and Operation Highlander, the latter of which documented my fifteen month tenure in Scotland. I've written occasional articles for Small Wars Journal. I'm working on a book about the First World War, specifically focused on the Gordon Highlanders. I occasionally blog about that project. I also love to read, as does my wife. I begin each year with the hope that I'll be able to read eight books, but I end most years without having actually done so. My undergraduate advisor always maintained that his massive library of over five thousand books was a "working library" that didn't necessarily need to be read in its entirety, and I try to emulate that attitude. You can see my reading list here, and you can see a list of my books here.
Additional information about me and my interests can be found on the General Interests page.
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