Iraq War Pre-Surge: the Basics

[June 16, 2025]  Being selected as the new Facilities Chief in C-7 (Engineers) was a true honor. My section would be the lead effort for the Coalition Engineering effort at this stage of the Iraq War.  Other than Route clearance of IEDs, which was a relatively new and smaller Engineer mission, Construction and Reconstruction were the highest visible efforts to support our fighting forces. For the first and only time in my military career, I would have an overlap with my predecessor, LTC Capps. He would fill me in on how he operated, key projects, and where the “speed bumps” were as he ran this section. Shortly after arriving, I asked him and the section leaders to prepare a list of Boards and Working Groups they were on, and the purpose of each. Plus, they were to put together a list of key players outside C-7, a continuity book, and a RIP/TOA matrix.  I would use this information for my briefing to section heads on Monday, July 24.

Anytime a new senior staff officer takes over, I believe that it’s important for those already working in that section to know where this new officer is coming from and their leadership philosophy. I’d been in the country now for a week, and they had seen me about, and I had already spoken informally with everyone, but they also saw that I was gone most of the time. I had explained that I was getting to know all the key staff members in MNC-I, MNF-I, and other major organizations like TF-134 (located at Camp Cropper), MNSTC-I, JIEDDO, DRMS, TF-Odin, and various Coalition partners (like the ROKs, Australians, Poles, and British which formed the backbone of the Coalition). Who you know does matter. For me, when I call upon someone – usually at the peer level – to assist, it’s crucial they know who I am, the authority I have, and my personality.  Plus, they needed to hear that I was fully available to them and any request they made of me (or my section or the C-7), I would be there to see it through. They call, I’ll be there, period.

That Monday, I had my first sit-down with the Facilities Section to discuss my staff philosophy. If I’d been a commander, this philosophy (or guidance) would have been in greater detail, and I’d put it in writing. I had two purposes for this meeting. The first was for me to learn about them (their goals, needs, and getting to know their expertise) and how they thought the section was supposed to operate. The second purpose was for them to learn about how I operated as a section leader. I liked to work in a decentralized manner, so I required getting regular backbriefs, plus being copied on important emails. Furthermore, I always have an open-door policy, meaning any of them could walk into my area (there was no office but an isolated area near the back of the building) to talk about anything that was bothering them or that they needed to tell me.

My philosophy was to tell them what I wanted accomplished and not “how” they had to do it. If I did tell them how, there was a good reason (usually a short time factor) and that they could see this as “guidance.”  I made it clear that they were the technical experts, and they would be treated with the proper deference when there was ever a problem or conflict. I also like staffers with good work habits, being efficient and effective, and so I would not set office hours, but I would monitor results closely. I then prepared a time to speak with each of them in a one-on-one setting. Section heads were: Major John Chaput, USA (Plans), Captain Abby Jarabek, USA (Environmental), Major Pat Wentz, USA (Operations), and Chief Mowatt, USA (Power, 249th Prime Power).  The C-7 was fortunate to have these professionals as part of its staff. I was pleased that I was about to inherit the Facilities Section. I was to take over on 1 August formally.

If an Army is known for its bureaucracy, then a coalition is known for its supercharged bureaucracy, and that was part of my learning requirement. I had to get into the insides of why things were done a certain way, the rules (and in some cases, U.S. law), and when I could circumvent the rules as a shortcut (or what we called a “workaround”) to get a task done faster. I would not become comfortable with this for several months, and just in time for the pre-Surge announcement in the upcoming December.

The weather was extremely hot and the enemy – a combination of hardcore terrorists and disaffected Iraqi insurgents – were continually lobbing mortars into our perimeter with an occasional rocket mixed in. Later, we would install a Vulcan in Victory Base and a few other select locations. This gun was impressive when used in an anti-aircraft and anti-indirect fire role.  The M61 Vulcan is a hydraulically, electrically, or pneumatically driven, six-barrel, air-cooled, electrically fired Gatling-style rotary cannon that fires 20 mm rounds at a high rate of fire.  The gun ran off an automated radar without human intervention. It did make me a little nervous whenever I flew over our base in a helicopter. The ADOC (under the Garrison) was in charge of base air defense, and they were allowed to link directly with us in C-7 to expedite the platform on which to mount the Vulcan.

Each Friday, the C-7 would have some team sport activity, early in the morning, just as daylight was breaking. Just before I took over the Facilities Section, we played “combat soccer,” a game that required considerable dexterity and stamina to play (there are photos of this game somewhere on my computer today). By 1000 hours, we were back at work, showered and ready for a C-7 senior staff huddle. This regularly scheduled meeting is where I would update the C-7 COL Haight on the largest or most visible construction efforts and where we were on each, plus estimated completion dates. Like any good officer, he was most interested in what he could do to help remove any obstacles we were running into. He liked the fact that I rarely needed his help because I’d already had contacts at ARCENT, CENTCOM, and FORSCOM in their Engineer sections who were big-time problem solvers for me. I also relied upon the Corps of Engineers’ ERDC out of Vicksburg, Mississippi, where I could get testing done with just a phone call.

My first week back into the Iraq War was highly profitable in terms of networking, mostly among other Colonels, and learning the bureaucracy of that huge Coalition organization. In addition, I was already in excellent physical shape and maintained it by running four miles each morning in my Army PT uniform and carrying my M16 rifle at port arms. In the heat of the day, I would get a number of combat Soldiers yelling HOOAH at me, a good sign. Being physically fit meant I could tolerate the heat and dust, the work stress and dangers of being in a war zone, and I could tolerate the full year without any time off. I knew what to expect and how to pace myself. Most new folks in the theater were new to the heavy workload and struggled to adapt. My previous combat tour in Iraq in 2004-05 and at Victory Base put me back in familiar territory. These circumstances put me at a huge advantage and were why I immediately came online and was ready to work.

I could tell by now that this combat tour was going to be good for my professional and personal development, but most crucially, I would be making a positive impact on the war effort. Furthermore, I would help develop many junior officers from the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy, and a small number of Coalition Engineers. Many would remain friends to this day. As well, I would learn more about and directly experience the Iraq culture. And that was positive in that I now had a better understanding of the dynamics of the Sunni-Shia intra-religious conflict, the constant low-simmering tribal warfare, and how a socialist-style, newly democratic society reacts to stressors (hint, not well). In my first week on the ground, I was learning the basics, exactly what I would need for this one-year combat tour.

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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).