Commander Mike Varney, US Navy, received word that he would command a provincial reconstruction team (PRT) while assigned to the Chief of Naval Operations staff at the Pentagon. Notified in December 2005, Varney and several other officers would...
MAJ David Conner served as a liaison officer (LNO) and in current operations with Task Force Olympia in Camp Victory, Baghdad, Iraq and Forward Operating Base (FOB) Freedom, Mosul, Iraq during 2004 and 2005 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom...
The First Sergeant is probably the most prestigious and satisfying job position in the United States Army. Soldiers dream of becoming a First Sergeant. The First Sergeant has the responsibility, and respect of being the company’s highest-ranking...
For five months in the year 2006 Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) 361 lead a three hundred man indigenous force throughout the central-eastern border region of Afghanistan. In the early months of Operation Enduring Freedom, United...
In this interview MAJ Tage Rainsford discusses his deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) in March 2004 with the 2-27th Infantry Regiment in the 3rd Brigade of the 25th Infantry Division (ID). MAJ Rainsford...
In July 2003, Lieutenant Colonel Dennis Sullivan deployed to Afghanistan as the executive officer of 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment and served in this capacity throughout his nine-month tour operating mostly in the country's Paktika...
The Sunni tribal uprising against Al Qaeda in Iraq, known as the Anbar Awakening, was the decisive event in the counterinsurgency campaign in Iraq. To capitalize on discontent between the Sunni population and Al Qaeda, U.S. commanders on the ground...
The preponderance of literature and scholarly debate on counterinsurgency (COIN) focuses on the strategic or operational approach: leader-focused; large group-focused; special operations; conventional operations; enemy centric; and the latest,...
Major Rich Lencz served on an embedded training team (ETT) as the advisor to the S3 and the commander of 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 203rd Corps, then later 2nd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 203rd Corps, in Paktika Province in support of Operation...
LTC Anthony Clemente served as intelligence officer with the headquarters of the 82nd Airborne Division at the Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF) Headquarters in Bagram, Afghanistan during 2009 and 2010 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom...
In this interview, CPT Agyei-Aye, US Army, Infantry; Strategic Planner; discusses his six month deployment to Afghanistan as a company commander in 2010 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). CPT Agyei-Aye discusses his training missions...
LTC Anthony Clemente served as intelligence officer with the headquarters of the 82nd Airborne Division at the Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF) Headquarters in Bagram, Afghanistan during 2009 and 2010 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom...
FM 3-0 Operations: the Army's blueprint. General William S. Wallace, U.S. Army; TRADOC's commander introduces the newest version of FM 3-0, Operations, the Army's guide to operating in the 21st century.
Ambush! Ambush! The commander yelled as he grabbed for the hand mike to tell higher that we were being hit and hit hard. I’m hit, I’m hit screamed our driver! God it hurts! We’ll worry about that later, just drive fast. I was shooting from my...
Beginning in 2009, the United States and many of its NATO-ISAF partners dramatically raised their levels of effort in Afghanistan. The "Afghan Surge," as it came to be known, was most evident in the number of additional US and allied troops that...
In this first part of a two-part interview regarding his February 2005 through February 2006 deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom-Afghanistan, Major Ryan O'Connor discusses his command of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 508th...
In this interview MAJ Heidi Urben discusses her 2004 to 2005 deployment to Afghanistan with the 25th ID as the intelligence officer for the plans section. The 25th ID deployed as the Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF)-180, later re-designated...
In this interview, MAJ Robert McChrystal, US Army, Infantry; discusses his deployment to Afghanistan as the a company commander leading more than 130 Soldiers in 2007 through 2008 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). MAJ McChrystal...
In this interview, MAJ John Hollar, US Army, Army National Guard (ARNG); discusses his deployment to Afghanistan as part of the Embedded Training Team (ETT) in 2007 through 2008 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). MAJ Hollar discusses...
A veteran of two deployments to Afghanistan as part of 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) - the first from January to August 2004 as the 1st Battalion, Charlie Company operations sergeant, the second from June 2005 to February 2006 as an...