Operational Leadership Experiences
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UNCLASSIFIED OOppeerraattiioonnaall LLeeaaddeerrsshhiipp EExxppeerriieenncceess A project of the Combat Studies Institute, the Operational Leadership Experiences interview collection archives firsthand, multi-service accounts from military personnel who planned, participated in and supported operations in the Global War on Terrorism. Interview with MAJ Jarrod Bailey Combat Studies Institute Fort Leavenworth, Kansas © 2014 United States Government, as represented by the Secretary of the Army. All rights reserved. UNCLASSIFIED Abstract In this April 2015 interview, MAJ Jarrod Bailey, US Army, Logistics; discusses his deployment to Iraq as part of a military transition team (MiTT) for 3d Special Troops Battalion (STB) of 187th Infantry, in 2005 through 2006 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). MAJ Bailey talks about his missions as a distribution platoon leader and the MiTT logistics advisor. He describes living conditions and working with the Iraqi army. He discusses some difficult leadership challenges he faced and shares how he was able to boost morale for his team. He shares a specific memory of interaction with the local populace. MAJ Bailey closes his interview by stating, "Don't put a 2LT on a MiTT. They don't really know what they are doing. I learned a lot, but it was kind of being thrown into a fire." UNCLASSIFIED Interview with MAJ Jarrod Bailey 20 April 2015 EK: My name is MAJ Edward Keen (EK) and I'm with the Operational Leadership Experience Project at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. I'm interviewing MAJ Jarrod C. Bailey (JB) on his experiences during Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). Today's date is April 20, 2015 and this is an unclassified interview. Before we begin, if you feel at any time that we're entering classified territory, please couch your response in terms that avoid revealing any classified information, and if classification requirements prevent you from responding, simply say that you're not able to answer. Before we talk about your deployment, could you give a brief history of your background with the Army? JB: Alright, well, I graduated from college in 2004. I majored in history and commissioned as a Second Lieutenant (2LT) in the Quartermaster branch, and was sent to Fort Lee, Virginia, for my Quartermaster Officer Basic Course. That's how I got started in the Army. EK: With all of the many different branches within the Army, why did you decide to specialize in Logistics? JB: Because the Army told me that's what I was going to specialize in. [laughter] In college, during Reserve Officers' Training Course (ROTC), they ask you what branch you would want to serve in. My top three were Infantry, Artillery, and Armor -- basically, all combat arms. Eighth was Quartermaster, and that's what I got. Once you graduate the Captain's Career Course, they combine the Quartermaster, Transportation, and Ordnance Corps to the Logistics Corps. EK: Okay, thanks for walking me through that. How many deployments in support of the Global War on Terror have you had? JB: Four. My first one was OIF IV in 2005-2006, and then I was home for a year. Then I went to OIF VI for 15 months. I can't recall the dates on that, but it's basically a year after I got back from my first deployment. Then, about 15 months after my second deployment I went to Kuwait with the First Sustainment Brigade for six months, then I came home to take command of a forward support company and three months after I was back from Kuwait, I was over in Afghanistan for 12 months. EK: Okay, so you've been to both OIF and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). JB: Yes. EK: Let's focus on your first deployment, OIF IV 2005-2006. What unit were you assigned to during your deployment? JB: [laughter] Well, I started out -- I was with the Gulf forward support company (FSC) that was 66th Brigade Support Battalion, who was assigned to the 3d of the 320th Field Artillery. But, I was put on a military transition team (MiTT), so I got switched. Once we deployed I was with Operational Leadership Experiences Project, Combat Studies Institute, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas 3 UNCLASSIFIED the 3d Special Troops Battalion (STB). We had put together, like I said, a MiTT. Then I was with 3d of the 187th Infantry for most of the deployment. I was also 1st of the 187th for couple months, but 3rd of the 187th was who I was with most of the time. EK: When did you first find out that you would be deploying to Iraq? JB: I first found out -- I think, almost immediately when I signed into the unit. They were preparing for deployment. We knew it was going to be Iraq. So, as soon as I got there in January of 2005, I knew we were deploying. EK: Where did you serve in Iraq during that deployment? JB: When we first got into Kuwait, I was completely detached from the battalion -- the 3d of the 320th -- completely with 3d STB. We got the team together and we were going to do some training up in -- I think it was Taji, Iraq? I think we were there for -- it was the Phoenix Academy. I think it was Taji. Then from there we went up to Baiji, Iraq, which is north Iraq. That was for a few months and then we ended up most of our tour in Tikrit -- or -- excuse me, Samarra, Iraq. That was nine months we spent in Samarra. EK: When you were deployed -- you mentioned your unit had changed -- did your job title change at all? Did it stay the same throughout the deployment? JB: When I was with my original battalion, I was a distribution platoon leader. I was picked to be on the MiTT as the MiTT logistics advisor. Basically, advising an Iraqi battalion logistics officer (S4), as well as any logistics operations. So, during the whole deployment I was the MiTT logistics (LOG) advisor. EK: You mentioned that you changed from the Gulf company, the FSC, to the MiTT. Did you receive appropriately tailored pre-deployment training ahead of time, or were more focused with the unit you were with first? JB: Actually, I trained both -- I trained my platoon to get ready for their deployment, and then I had additional requirements. They would pull us away to train with the MiTT. We were doing internal MiTTs. This was before they had the MiTTs training out of Fort Riley, Kansas, so it was all internal to the brigade. We did a few training exercises as a MiTT together. The best training I got, though, was -- since we were on our own a lot, as a lieutenant, usually I would be driving or being a gun on a high mobility multi-purpose wheeled vehicle (HMMWV). We only had about an eight-man team, sometimes down to six, so I found myself driving and being a gunner a lot. The unit I was with -- the 3d Brigade, 105th, the [inaudible], under COL Mike Steele -- he was big on combat stuff, tasks. He had what was called the Rock Top Ten. Basically, it was -- can you fire a weapon all the way from an M-9 to a Mark 19, can you talk on a radio, can you drive a vehicle -- can you do all that? That was actually the best kind of training I got, because if we Operational Leadership Experiences Project, Combat Studies Institute, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas 4 UNCLASSIFIED hadn't of done that I wouldn't have known how to do it. I would say we did receive appropriate training. EK: As the MiTT Logistics advisor, did you have Soldiers to train, and if so, did you have much leeway in their training? JB: I had zero Soldiers. I worked with a few non-commissioned officers (NCOs), but they really weren't mine. I wasn't rating anyone. It was basically just me as a 2LT Logistics advisor to an Iraqi battalion. So no, I didn't have any Soldiers to train. I was being trained a lot of the time. EK: You kind of already elaborated on it, but I was wondering if you could be more specific. Once you arrived in country, what were your major responsibilities, as a Logistics advisor? JB: When we first got there, after the Phoenix Academy where they trained us on how to be training teams for Iraqi battalions, we were up in Baiji, Iraq, with the 1st of the 187th Infantry. Our job was to go and assess -- it's not a border patrol, but -- there was a battalion that was protecting infrastructure up in north Iraq, mainly oil pipeline and energy cables. We had to go assess them. We kind of just took a look at how they were operating. Then we handed it off to another team and went down to Samarra for the rest of the deployment where we were with this one Iraqi battalion the rest of the time. My job was to help the S4 and the personnel officer (S1) conduct [inaudible] operations. EK: What was your view of the situation when you first arrived? Either living conditions or threat conditions. JB: Living conditions in northern Iraq -- we were on a base and we got put in a big warehouse they were using as their motor pool. There were a couple rooms to the side we were just stuffed in. -- we had cots. That wasn't the greatest situation. Once we got to Samarra, it was a smaller forward operating base, but it had containerized housing units (CHUs). I got to have a roommate.