Up and Running...

Hey, I'm bloggin'!!! I have decided to do a blog to keep family and folks informed about my next assignment in the Army. I also view it as an opportunity to engage in some strategic communication, as a chance to tell the public what their Army does for them. When I tell most civilians what I do, they look back with a blank stare-- It's obvious they have no idea what their Army does for them, but almost all tell me they appreciate what the services do for them (which is always nice to hear). My goal is to inform, update, and provide some perspective for what freedom and the American Way costs.

Well, it is the week before I head to Fort Riley where I will begin my train-up as a Military Transition Team (MTT) Leader to the Iraqi Army. I will lead a small team of Soldiers and we will live and work with an Iraqi Army Battalion. I like to think of it as a consulting job, along the lines of Lawrence of Arabia (hence the blog title). Our job is not to create the American Army, but instead to get the Iraqis to put an Iraqi solution to Iraqi problems. It's up to us to work ourselves out of a job.

The team is made up of Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs, or Sergeants) and some junior to mid-grade offficers (Captains). Each team member brings a specialty (operations, intelligence, logistics, etc) and a different skill set and perspective to the team. Since there are only 10 of us, we will operate with more autonomy (and probably austerity) than most conventional deployed units. I have been in contact with almost all of them already. Those who have already been in theater have a pretty good idea of what we will do, but most are excited, skeptical, and as clueless about what we are getting ourselves into as I am.

It has been said that MTT teams are the way out of Iraq by getting the Iraqis to be self sufficient in their own security. We as an Army have done the duty of advising in the past, but we seem to always forget to read our own history, and we end up having to re-learn all of the hard lessons over again. Hopefully by the time I get there, we'll have it figured out-- we'll see.

Almost all of this post is pure speculation, as I have never been there. I can only go off of what I have read and what others have told me. The only knowns are that I'm supposed to be at Fort Riley this weekend, and I am going to lead a team in Iraq. The rest is up for grabs. And that's what makes being an officer in the Army an adventure...

Take care.
Ron