Iraq War Pre-Surge: My Tour Begins

[June 1, 2025]  On Sunday afternoon, July 9, 2006, a small group of Soldiers in civilian dress waited at the airport in El Paso, Texas, for pickup.  Arriving at Ft. Bliss, we were dropped off at our barracks, found a bunk, dropped our travel gear, and reported to Building 500A for ACU uniform fitting. After a formation in our new uniforms, much like recruits – but looking like a bunch of old folks in oddly-fitting uniforms – we were transported by an OD-Green Army bus to a facility for a Commander’s Briefing. The men and women in this group were “fillers” for key staff positions in Iraq. Nearly all were full colonels, all occupation branches, experienced (with a few exceptions that would fail to ship out), and eventually be key contacts of mine during the upcoming year of my deployment.  Arriving over several days, this mixed group of about 300 Soldiers (no General Officers) and civilians would fill a number of high-level staff vacancies for the Iraq War.

For the next five days, we would be poked and prodded by medical and dental staff (I would get a new tooth filling), issued more gear, take mandatory classes (like first aid), qualify with the M9 pistol and M16 rifle, and eat some poor-quality meals at the Bliss DFACs. Then we were ready to depart on a civilian aircraft, Boeing 777, chartered by the Army out of the El Paso airport.  We were assisted by the Bliss Arrival/Departure Airfield Control Group. Like raw recruits, we were pretty much cattle at this point, going where we were told and following directions.  I was selected to be the aircraft commander with the unenviable task of ensuring no one strayed away or got lost and handling the flight manifest and other assorted paperwork on which the military travels. We would have a stopover in Germany before continuing to Kuwait, as the aircraft crew was changed. The flight left Texas on Saturday, July 15, at 2355 hours. My journey herding these cats and dogs would last for about 48 hours, thank goodness.

My original assignment in Iraq was to be in the MNC-I C-9 (Civil Affairs) as part of their efforts to integrate the “effects” of the coalition’s main effort. I’d been selected for this position a couple of months before my deployment by the Army because I was a “good fit,” already having on-the-ground construction experience in OIF-2 (2004-2005) with the 353rd Engineer Group, part of the 1st Cavalry Division engineers. Before deploying, I read up on the ongoing missions of the C-9, and I’d been in contact with several of the Civil Affairs staff currently in Iraq, preparing myself for a new job. I was looking forward to this new assignment because I would also be working closely with engineers out of the C-7 shop, and I would be back in familiar territory.  By this time, I was aware of the Corps and Army command structure and the inner workings of that huge bureaucracy.  Being knowledgeable of one of the largest bureaucracies in the world gives any “staff puke” a tremendous advantage over his peers.

We arrived in Kuwait the next day, July 16, at 0545 hours, and after picking up time flying west to east across the Atlantic and Europe. This day would be a long day.  We were briefed as if none of us had ever been in combat before. I was okay with updates but the Army training officers and DACs giving us briefings seemed bored. I got the impression they didn’t think much of us despite the high rank we carried. We learned that “Kuwait is our friend” and that we would be handling weapons and ammunition, so we should be cognizant of the Theatre ROE and remember military standards. We would gather back with our original group that we’d left with from Ft. Bliss on the next morning at 0635 for flight GL53 to BIAP in Iraq.  En route, headed north to Baghdad, I was sitting next to a female civilian who was getting airsick. I told her to use her helmet if she needed to throw up and how it would be bad form to vomit on any of us.

We landed at BIAP at 1230 hours on Monday, July 17, and it was HOT as Hell outside. Departing the rear of the C-17 Globemaster Cargo plane, we were also met with the exhaust of four huge revved-up jet engines. At the terminal, I called the C-9 phone number I’d been given. I knew not to assume someone would come to get me at BIAP or know that I was even in the country. The C-9 himself, COL Brad Ward, spoke and informed me that I was no longer assigned to him. Telling me that he was disappointed to lose an experienced officer but he had consented, as he got a call from the MNC-I Deputy Commander notifying him of the change. Also, I would be assigned to the Engineers in C-7 at the Boathouse. I was elated to hear this news, although curious how the reassignment had come about. It turns out that COL Ken Cox (from 1st Cavalry days), acting as the C-7 Reconstruction Officer, had convinced the Corps that I would be much more valuable in the C-7 shop than in C-9. This decision would pay off greatly in December of that year when the “Surge” was announced.

I was picked up by the C-7’s Secretary, a nice older woman in a white Chevy Tahoe with a powerful air conditioner system. She drove me straight to the C-7 Boathouse to meet with the C-7, COL Bill Haight, and his Australian deputy COL Neil Sheet. I would settle in that day, meeting those who would work for me in my new role as the Facilities Chief and with the key staffers in C-7 (like COL John Moore, EHCC counter-IED and LTC John McComb, Chief Plans and Operations).  I was happy to hear that Fatin Thiab was the interpreter for C-7 and that I would see her daily. We’d become good friends on my previous tour. We had breakfast together the following morning to catch up on the year I’d been in the States.

I was convinced that the C-7 was in good shape and that my tour would be a good one and that I could make a positive impact. At the MNC-I morning BUB to the CG – LTG Peter Chiarelli (later Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army) – we were told that our mission would be to “Isolate access to Baghdad.”  The idea was to prevent outside terrorists and internal insurgents from penetrating cleared areas in the city of Baghdad to create chaos and blame the Coalition.  Of course, this would be an enormous challenge, and I had no idea how he could accomplish his intent without more boots on the ground. In fact, this idea of increasing the troop presence debate had spilled over into the public several months back. The idea of more troops to quell the increasing violence was taking shape.

That Tuesday, I discovered the C-7 was organized into four sections: Coalition Munitions Clearance, Reconstruction, Facilities, and Ops/Plans. I would be replacing LTC Steve Capps, a very capable engineer who had been in the position only for a few months and had fallen seriously ill, requiring his transfer back to the States for better medical attention and a moderate climate. I also met USAF COL Bill Macon, the MNF-I Force Basing Officer in MNF-I R&S.  He (plus his replacement) and I would work closely together, mostly on base consolidation and shutdowns.  Along with BG Steve Anderson, COL Mary Whitworth and Navy Captain Mike Zabel (Doctor Evil), they would be critical to get the pre-Surge planning at MNF-I R&S off the ground. I would also get to know US Navy Captain Rich Marrs, MNSTC-I J-7, who would struggle to work with, train, and create a military cultural change within the Iraq Army.  COL Bob Rush, MNC-I Deputy Chief of Staff, would be invaluable in helping me in my job, especially once the pre-surge effort began. Bob was a wonderful Christian man, and we attended Wednesday’s Prayer Breakfasts together.

By Wednesday, and in-country just short of three days, I’d visited all the MNC-I staff, several key MNF-I and MNSTC-I staff, KBR leadership, and other support elements that made this large bureaucracy work. It was a complex but effective machine that fought a war of occupation. Our nation has produced many great Americans, and I was proud to be among them.

Travels from Ft. Bliss, TX to BIAP:

• COL Mark French – MNF-I, Center for Excellence
• LTC Mark Jackson, Theater Provost Marshall
• COL Dave Hill, MNC-I C-8
• COL Charles Campbell, MNF-I
• Mr. Jamie Lopez, ATF from Lubbock, TX
• COL Perry Henson, MNF-I Strategy
• COL Dave Dornblaster, Security Assistance
• COL Joe Wallace, MNSTC-I, J-3
• COL Juan Arocha, MNSTC-I, J-5
• COL Carl Johnson, MNSTC-I, J-1
• COL Mary Whitworth, MNF-I, R&S Logistics
• CSM White

… and more that I didn’t immediately get their names. Plus, there were civilians mixed in.

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Please read my books:

1. “55 Rules for a Good Life,” on Amazon (link here).
2. “Our Longest Year in Iraq,” on Amazon (link here).