At the age of 21, Dan Gessen achieved two lifelong dreams when he became both an elected official and an Army officer.
And even though the Falmouth native will report for active duty this week with the Massachusetts Army National Guard ahead of a deployment to Iraq, Gessen will continue serving on the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates.
Iraq is eight hours ahead of Eastern Time, meaning those government meetings will start at midnight for Gessen.
"It won't be without its complexities," said Gessen, 23. "But in the post-pandemic world where everything is remote, it's really never been more feasible to be able to balance between the two."
Gessen said he has already adapted to past Army trainings overlapping with Assembly responsibilities. He enlisted with the Army National Guard while in high school and earned the national ROTC scholarship at UMass Amherst.
Gessen will serve as an infantry platoon leader with the 1-181st Infantry Regiment and support Iraqi security forces against ISIS.
"It's the best job in the Army," he said. "There's nothing more rewarding than being able to give to a cause greater than yourself."
Gessen expects his deployment to last until fall.
