In this second of two interviews dealing with his Operation Iraqi Freedom experiences, Major Michael Scarpulla discusses his January 2005 through January 2006 deployment as initially the commander of Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry - part of 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division - and then later as 3rd Brigade's deputy operations officer (S3). "As far as my responsibilities," he said, "I had the logistical support for the battalion. I owned the forward operating base, I owned a two-and-a-half-week police course, I owned all the Iraqi police in our battalion's area of operations" - which was in the vicinity of Muqdadiyah in Iraq's Diyala Province - "and I also owned the partnership program for the HHC commander of the Iraqi Army battalion that was co-located on our FOB. I had my scouts, my snipers and my mortar platoon." Scarpulla discusses the conduct of regular combat logistics patrols, sniper operations and the occasional "door-kicking" by his scouts. He also talks at length about the advisory/training mission he had with 2-2 Iraqi Army Battalion and his own time spent with the local Iraqi police chiefs. As to how far the Iraqi units had progressed during his yearlong tour, Scarpulla shares the following statistic: "In the summer of that year, we were almost to the point of 50/50. We led 50 percent, they led 50 percent. By September, 90 percent of the operations were Iraqi Army-led and of that, most of them only went out with a military transition team (MiTT) section." The only thing that really held the Iraqis back, Scarpulla says, was their "lack of a logistics infrastructure." In addition, he talks about the threat that improvised explosive devices (IEDs) posed, accounting for some 90 percent of their enemy contact; the constant leadership challenge that proper time management posed for him personally; the importance of the US staying the course in Iraq; as well as how, improbably perhaps, his nearly 20-year marriage was actually strengthened by his 12 months of being away in Iraq. As a parting thought, Scarpulla recommends that you rely on your small unit leaders. "You're not a one-man band," he said, "and as a type-A guy, you'll be able to sleep at night if you accept that."

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