Retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Steven Blum commanded a multinational force in the Bosnian war. Then he oversaw the mobilization of the National Guard in response to the Sept. 11 attacks, Hurricane Katrina, and wildfires in California. Along the way, he’s given four in-depth interviews to Rolling Stone magazine without getting canned – in remarkable contrast to the recent misadventure of Gen. Stanley McChrystal.

Blum has a new job at Sitrick Brincko Group, a high-profile Century City-based PR company that specializes in communications during crises such as corporate bankruptcies and lawsuits. He’ll help companies cope with natural and manmade

disasters.

“The ultimate crisis is a terrorist attack or a natural disaster,” said Mike Sitrick, chief executive. “Most companies prepare for it on a hypothetical basis, but Steve has actually lived it.”

Blum will also help defense contractors communicate with Congress and the Pentagon. Sitrick said he couldn’t cite specific clients due to confidentiality. Blum will be based in Sitrick’s Baltimore office.

What makes the partnership interesting is that the two men go way back. They first met when Sitrick was a 20-year-old student at the University of Maryland and Blum was an Army private. Blum tried to recruit Sitrick to join U.S. Army Special Forces, but Sitrick declined. Later, Blum’s father hired both of them to sort thread at his vest factory. They were fired after an hour.

“We were sitting there cracking each other up,” Sitrick recalled. “We were not taking it very seriously.”