FORT BRAGG, N.C. — Khaled Abou Rashad may have immigrated to the United States from Syria when he was only a boy, but these days he does something that few of his countrymen do: Build and detonate large quantities of high explosives.

Rashad, a captain in the 192d Ordnance Battalion (EOD), is the Army's first Muslim-American bomb disposal expert officer, a choice Rashad told Duffel Blog he made to help challenge popular stereotypes.

"Because we have this reputation as being extremely peaceful and pacifist, most people never make the connection between Muslims and bombs or things blowing up," Rashad says. "I felt I needed to show my fellow soldiers that we can be just as dedicated and extreme as the next man."

After getting his degree from the University of Michigan in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Sharia Pre-Law, Rashad went through Officer Candidate School at the insistence of his parents. "After 9/11, my father said America has been very good to us and we should be good right back. He always says, 'When you think about America, you need to remember 9/11.' So that's what I think about, all day long: 9/11," Rashad said, a smile forming on his face.