Dean Parker

Dean Parker, a commercial housepainter and avid surfer from Florida, traveled to northern Iraq to fight with the Kurdish Peshmerga against ISIS.

Some foreigners fight for ISIS, but this American joined the fight against it

Global Scan

One day, Dean Parker was watching the news on TV. The next he was packing up body armor and preparing to fight with Kurdish forces against ISIS militants in Iraq and Syria. Now he’s looking for a flight home — and knows he has some explaining to do to the FBI and Homeland Security.

Dean Parker, a commercial housepainter and avid surfer from Florida, traveled to northern Iraq to fight with the Kurdish Peshmerga against ISIS.

Meet the surfing grandfather from Florida who helped the Kurds fight ISIS

Conflict