Iraq War veteran turned stay-at-home dad said he served so his children would be safe

Iraq War veteran Rob Walker’s nickname during his seven-year stint in the U.S. Army was “Easy.” He tried his best to keep a calm demeanor, even in hectic situations, and his fellow soldiers picked up on that. Now home in Bend, Walker has carried that same calm into his new role as a stay-at-home dad of a disabled child. “It really prepared me to be a dad,” Walker said of serving in the military. “When there’s total chaos in the house, I’m usually the calm one.” Walker comes from a long family line of military veterans. His mother was in the Women’s Army Corps and his father in the Air Force, his sister joined the National Guard and his uncle was a Chief Warrant Officer in the Army. He has relatives that trace back their service to the Civil War. Walker enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1998 when he was 18. He said it felt like the right thing to do. Throughout his seven years in the service, Walker served as a U.S.

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