STOUGHTON, Wis. (WMTV) – When Wisconsin Army National Guard Second Lieutenant Aaron Harring-Spoerl left for a year-long deployment, he never expected to form such a strong bond with a stray cat in Iraq.
Harring-Spoerl, who grew up in Stoughton, spent 367 days overseas and served in Kuwait, Jordan, Syria and Iraq. He spent much of his deployment in Kuwait and Iraq, including time on a diplomatic support mission in Baghdad.
It was there that a small orange stray started showing up outside the Oasis, a recreation facility at the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center.
“He was right outside begging for food. He was a lot smaller than he is now,” Harring-Spoerl said…