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MOSUL, Iraq — Most interns answer telephones and fetch coffee. But a FOX31 Denver intern is experiencing something a little more exciting.

Mitch Utterback arranged a school project that has taken him to Iraq, where he’s witnessing something most college students will never get to see.

Utterback is a retired U.S. Army Special Forces lieutenant colonel and Colorado National Guardsman who has done three tours in Afghanistan and one in Iraq. He arranged this trip with old friends from the Iraqi Special Forces.

He is in the middle of earning a master’s degree from the University of Colorado, and he plans to turn the footage he’s gathering in the war zone in to a class project.  Eventually, he wants to be a war correspondent.

“Troops are getting ready doing pre-combat checks. It’s gonna be a big day,” Utterback narrated as he set out on a patrol days ago in Mosul.

There have been plenty of big days, from dodging car bombs and sniper fire, to witnessing airborne firefights and touring abandoned ISIS hideouts. On-the-job training doesn’t get much more interesting than this.

It’s important to note, FOX31 didn’t send him to Iraq. He arranged this trip separately from his internship.

To follow Mitch’s journey, follow him on Twitter or read his blog posts.

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