`Real World' cast member leaves for Iraq on Sunday

`Real World' cast member leaves for Iraq on Sunday
By ERIN CARLSON –

NEW YORK (AP) — Ryan Conklin, the impish, guitar-playing merry prankster of this season's "The Real World: Brooklyn," was packing his guitar to head off to Iraq on Sunday.

The former cast member of the MTV reality show was feeling more than a little anxious. "I want to get this thing started, because the sooner I do it, the sooner it'll be over," he said Wednesday.

"I'm kind of just getting antsy with time."

He hopes to serve a rotation of just nine months.

The 23-year-old Gettysburg, Pa., native was on the front lines three years ago. He received his deployment notice while living in the "Real World" house. It was one of show's most poignant moments: His brother called with the news, and Conklin's emotional reaction ran the gamut from denial to disbelief to tears.

Conklin, who voiced his opposition to the war and participated in a Veterans Day parade on the show, touched the hearts of viewers who sympathized with his predicament.
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`Real World' cast member leaves for Iraq on Sunday

'The Real World': Ryan Conklin talks about getting called back to Iraq"

'The Real World': Ryan Conklin talks about getting called back to Iraq
07:46 AM PT, Mar 18 2009
"The Real World: Brooklyn's" Ryan Conklin is only 23, but he's preparing to serve his second tour of duty in Iraq. He first enlisted after 9/11, when he was just 17, and several times since has narrowly escaped with his life. He also experienced the death of a close friend.
On tonight's episode, Conklin will get the call back into action, which he describes as devastating. (He's scheduled to go back on April 15.) Last week, he phoned in from Camp Shelby, Miss., where he's training with other military members of the Individual Ready Reserve, to explain how he's adjusted to the unexpected situation and why he feels lucky to have been selected to be on the umpteenth iteration of an MTV reality show.

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