MAJ Ed Vedder deployed to Iraq in support of OIF from August 2007 until December 2008 to COB Speicher, Iraq. MAJ Vedder, an attack helicopter pilot, deployed initially as the XO for 1-1 Attack and halfway through the deployment was sent to Fort...
LTC Kruse deployed as the Commander of Task Force (TF) 2-238th General Support Aviation Battalion to Camp Buehring, Kuwait. LTC Kruse discusses at length the disadvantages of a separate Aviation Task Force working directly for the Combined Forces...
Major Richard Feltzer, in this second of two interviews, discusses commanding Alpha Company, 7th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment in Tikrit, Iraq, from September 2005 through October 2006 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He talks about the...
In this interview CPT Rodney Gervais discusses his unique challenges in planning for and conducting pre-mobilization training. In peacetime, Company C is home stationed in Shelbyville, Indiana and is normally Operationally Controlled (OPCON) to...
CPT Vander Lugt, commander of A/1-52 Aviation Regiment, describes the background of his company's deployment to Iraq. He describes how his Command and Control (CAC) Company was detached from its parent General Support Aviation Battalion (GSAB),...
In this interview, MAJ Eric Halstrom, US Army, Aviation, discusses his deployment to Iraq as a Company Commander in 2007 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). MAJ Halstrom describes a typical day, his experience with flying in country and...
Lieutenant Colonel Todd Conyers commanded Charlie Company, 159th Aviation Regiment, which provided heavy-lift helicopter support to the Pentagon immediately after the 9/11 attacks, and also deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom to...
MAJ Durbin discusses at length the positive impact the Aviation Training Exercise (ATX) had on training his staff to coordinate Aviation Operations in Iraq. Durbin notes that the ATX closely mirrored the actual process in theater, with one notable...
In this interview, MAJ Scott Evelyn, US Army, Aviation; discusses his deployment to Afghanistan as the maintenance company commander in 2009 through 2010 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). MAJ Evelyn discusses how his pre-deployment...
MAJ Patrick Wilde served as executive officer (XO) in an air traffic services (ATS) battalion at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Speicher during 2003 and 2004 and as company commander of Fox 3-82 ATS company and an aviation assault company at Bagram...
In this May 2009 interview MAJ Joshua Ruisanchez, Aviation, discusses his deployment to Iraq as the petroleum, oil, and lubricants/ammunition (Class III/V) platoon leader in the 2-3 Infantry. MAJ Ruisanchez recounts the training he and his platoon...