Then there’s a contingent that’s out of uniform and wearing neither contractor lanyards nor carrying Defense Dept. civilian badges. They’ve got beards – thick, grody ones – and tattoos, their heads covered with baseball caps, outfitted in jeans and t-shirts. In other words, they look like me, if I was less of a weakling.

Chances are they’re Special Operations Forces, the guys that go after the high-value jihadist targets and whom I’m not really supposed to write about. Interviews without a public-affairs officer are a no-no.

So I pay for my coffee and they pay for theirs — and we go our separate ways.