Deep Bonds & Brotherhood Aboukheir joined the Army in 2009 and served until 2015. The rigors of the Army didn’t surprise him, he said. In 2011 and 2012 he was deployed to multiple countries including Kuwait, Iraq, and Jordan. He often had to jump from airplanes and his job as a gunman required him to “blow a lot of things up,” he said. One thing he learned earlier on was that soldiers form deep bonds. Those experiences and relationships are among the best he’s had during his life, he added. When he left the Army, he did some real estate investing and he got back into restaurant and bar management. He worked at airports in a couple of large cities, such as Atlanta. He typically managed companies that took in $14 to $15 million per year and managed more than 200 employees. His wife, Katy, is from Arkansas and several years ago they decided to return to the Natural State. There was only one problem. The large restaurants that he was used to running don’t exist on that scale in Arkansas, so he had to transition into another type of business – mortgage loan originator. He currently works as a loan officer at Eagle Bank in Little Rock. The bank was started in 1919, and is one of the oldest banks in operation in the state. There are many lessons he learned in the Army that apply in the banking industry, he said. Hard work, honesty, and integrity are required to succeed in the Army and in the world of banking, he added. Even as he dove into his newest business career, there was another problem that Aboukheir decided he needed to tackle. He loves lamb chops, and he couldn’t find any good ones at the local grocery stores. His solution? “I started a lamb farm,” he said with a laugh. The challenges on the farm are very different from those in the Army or banking, he said.
Rabih Aboukheir was deployed in Kuwait, Iraq, and Jordan as a gunman.
“Oh man, it’s something new every day,” he said. “You are dealing with nature. You are dealing with animals. There are things that you cannot control. It’s an interesting challenge for sure,” he said. What do you miss from your time in the Army? “The brotherhood, no question about it. I'd do it all over again. It was the best experience of my life,” he said.
THE ARKANSAS BANKER
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