Oval Office Ambush

He rolls one of the ripped-out ads into a paper ball that he passes between his fingers. "Probation officer?" he reads, trying to see if the title fits. He chuckles. "Yeah, right."

• Jay Soldner

  

  Janicki's body ink displays his inner struggles.

• Jay Soldner

  

  Janicki hunts for jobs at the library.

Details:

Listen to Alexis Janicki explain why he jumped the White House fence and why he feels betrayed by the Army on this week’s Pitchcast:

Subject(s):

Iraq, President George W. Bush, PTSD

"Casinos?" He shakes his head. He couldn't take the crowds. And there are warrants out for his arrest.

He eyes the computers nearby. They're all taken. He was hoping to check his MySpace account. In the Army, he ran satellites to connect commanders to their units. Now he must compete with a handful of loitering high school kids to reach the Internet.

Back in October, he made a video of his story and posted it on YouTube. According to the site, Janicki's video has been viewed more than 20,000 times. Many of the people who have seen the video have sent him e-mails. He responds to few of them. Even on the Internet, he's fearful of new people.

He wants to use the Army's G.I. Bill to enroll at the Aviation Institute of Maintenance in midtown to learn to fix or fly airplanes. To do so, his discharge papers must be upgraded from general to honorable. He has been talking to the VFW and national veterans' rights groups about how to do this. If his effort succeeds, he hopes he'll be able to handle sitting quietly in a classroom of strangers.

He rips out a classified ad for a store that needs a security officer.

"Security? Sure!" he says, scanning the ad.

Between his fingers, the paper ball has been smashed as small and hard as a BB.

"It says 'prior military experience a plus.' We'll see."

He takes out his wallet and stuffs it with his collection of torn opportunities.