Currently serving his second tour of duty in Iraq, Wisconsin National Guardsman and (River Falls native) Jesse Jensen has found himself in some dangerous situations. But he recently came home to face his most perilous challenge yet: a half-pound of cheese curds. Luckily, Jensen never steps down from a curd-based challenge. From TwinCities.com …

• The 26-year-old planned his two-week leave to coincide with the annual Ellsworth Cheese Curd Festival so he could compete in its cheese curd-eating competition. Military paperwork even states the reason for his leave as "cheese curd-eating contest," Jensen said. …
• "I thought it was pretty cool that he would come home to Wisconsin to eat some cheese," said [Friend Jessica] Bergman, whose husband is serving with Jensen in Iraq. "But I guess I'm not surprised."
• Others didn't think it was out of character for the River Falls native, either. Girlfriend Kelly Cernohous said Jensen isn't afraid to make cheese his breakfast, and his father, Scott Jensen, can also attest to his son's penchant for a handful of cheese.

In Iraq, Jensen was forced to practice with mozzarella sticks, not the white cheddar nuggets of his homeland. However, upon arriving at the curd fest, he learned that the contest was not to see who could eat the most, but who could eat the fastest. And on top of that, Jensen was to compete against a representative from the U.S Army. Undaunted by this turn of events, Jensen said, “One team, one fight. We fight in war together, and we eat cheese curds together."

Both seasoned soldiers were beaten in one minute and 35 seconds by a 16-year-old kid. Anyway, if you’d like to see a bunch of Wisconsinites frenziedly shoving cheese in their mouths, check out the full article for some video. Or you could just wait and watch the relatives at the your family's Fourth of July picnic.