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Interview with MAJ Timothy O'Brien

出版	Combat Studies Institute, 2007
URL	http://books.google.com.hk/books?id=kFd9YgEACAAJ&hl=&source=gbs_api

註釋Major Timothy O'Brien served in Operation Iraqi Freedom with a military transition team (MiTT) in 2005-06. Part of a worldwide levy of US Army manpower to support MiTTs, O'Brien came from Fort Benning, Georgia, and the Ranger Training Brigade. He had served as an infantry company commander in Afghanistan in 2002-03. Sent initially to Fort Carson, O'Brien found himself part of a changing team of soldiers drawn from Army assignments all over the world, but few with Global War on Terrorism experience - two of 10 when the element pushed overseas. Predeployment training at Fort Carson emphasized soldier skills rather than advisory ones. O'Brien, as the operations officer, helped walk their MiTT through several frustrating weeks in Taji, Iraq, as the team attended the Phoenix Academy with no sense of their Iraqi unit or its area of operations. The MiTT arrived in Iraq at the same time as the Iraqi Assistance Group that would ultimately become responsible for such coordination. A last-minute scramble was necessary to scrounge ammunition, equipment and vehicle modifications to allow O'Brien and the MiTT to convoy through Baghdad to Fallujah. During a stop at Camp Victory for installation of the essential communications suite, Lieutenant General John Vines, the Multinational Force-Iraq commander, told the MiTTs, according to O'Brien, that, "He didn't know what we were supposed to do or how we were supposed to do it, but there was an Iraqi Army that needed to be trained and that's what we needed to do." The MiTT linked with 1st Brigade, 7th Division of the Iraqi Army. During this period, units like that brigade's three battalions went into contact straight from initial entry training, with little understanding of how to fight their subordinate units. O'Brien and the MiTT trained and advised while helping Iraqi commanders and their staffs sort out systemic problems like corruption (especially with pay,) poor administration and attrition. Personally advising a special action platoon - now outside of Ramadi - O'Brien had to integrate all of the team's soldier skills and leverage the training of their Iraqi unit when a suicide bomber exploded his lethal weapon at a recruiting event for the Iraqi Police. Despite 50 casualties, Iraqis and Americans alike responded with return fire to a related small arms attack while providing combat lifesaver skills. Iraqi military capability developed well under the MiTT advisory and training efforts, buttressed by joint support from US Marines and US Navy SEALs. In spite of the rewards of a challenging tour well done, which he called "one of the most fulfilling jobs I've had since I've been in the Army," more emphasis on preparation of advisory skills would have benefited O'Brien's MiTT.