I was serving in Colombia at the same time Richard Starr was kidnapped and was shocked by the event. Reportedly FARC was more visible in the area in which he was serving while I was in the Andes, however any area requires caution. Just prior to finishing up my tour, two local police tried breaking in my apartment in order to molest my wife while we had a new born. I had had a local shop keeper stop by the apartment in the middle of the night to take some of our things into Bogota as we'd be traveling back to the US within a few weeks. The police thought I'd left in the truck and minutes after it pulled away they were at the door trying to get in. I'd heard stories of how the police would visit homes in the night while the men were away and rape the women; when I yanked the door open, machette in hand it wasn't what they were expecting.....you do have to keep attuned to your surroundings and whats going on....there's other stories but this seemed most appropriate in light of Mr. Starrs plight.