Jacob recently returned from a tour of duty in iraq, where he served with the u. s. army's 1st infantry division. sitting at the kitchen table in his parents' home, he listens to his mom spend several hours making plans for a caribbean cruise with her new group of friends. he hears about his sister's recent promotion at work, and about his dad winning the "innovator of the year" award at his company. he reflects back on the lives of the people he has just left, their nightly fears of mortar attacks, their need to boil the drinking water on a daily basis, and the children that flocked around him begging for something to eat. as he concentrates on his business management text, he finds himself analyzing his present and past environment in terms of maslow's hierarchy of needs theory. he concludes that: