Colonel Thomas Torrance was the commander of the 3rd Infantry Division Artillery (DIVARTY) from June of 2002 until the end of May 2004, and was in Operation Iraqi Freedom from 20 March 2003 to July 2003. He was predominantly located in the tactical operations center which was in close proximity to the division tactical command post. His first mission was to provide counterfire for the division and close firing support for the maneuver brigades. Once they arrived in Baghdad, the mission changed to security of the Baghdad airport. Torrance was responsible for the Baghdad airport and the suburb of Abu Ghraib pushing west to Fallujah and the associated villages in that area. During this interview, Torrance recounted his experiences and lessons learned. Although his brigade did not play a primary role in reconstruction, they were involved in guarding fixed facilities such as hospitals, police stations and water treatment facilities. They also provided a non-governmental organization (NGO) reception station at the airport to register everyone who came into the country. A large task became recovering munitions. Although finding weapons of mass destruction (WMD) was not an official mission, Torrance personally inspected the 15 or 20 suspected WMD sites that his soldiers guarded. At that time, the insurgency had not yet begun. Torrance spoke extensively about the training, and the lack of training, he and his brigade received for Phase IV operations. During their wargaming and plan development, he revealed that they had little to no training for the task of nation building such as setting up a judicial system, a monetary system and a health care system. Explains Torrance, "I was, in my own mind, always sort of personally questioning, 'What next? What now? Now that we are here, what now?'" However, he found that his soldiers adapted very quickly, and many soldiers drew upon their experience in Bosnia or Kosovo. Torrance personally dealt with an Iraqi who identified himself as Sheik Dari and spoke English. Due to a shortage of interpreters, the sheik served as the primary translator in public meetings. Determining the accuracy of his interpretations was an issue with which Torrance had to contend. He found that the Arab culture of developing relationships provided a challenge for the Iraqi citizens when the 3rd Infantry Division changed command with new Army leaders. He also spoke of the left-seat, right-seat ride process and his FA Journal article concerning the nonlinear nature of this battlefield.

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