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Interview with LTC John Bullion

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Lieutenant Colonel John Bullion is the branch chief of the Policy and Forces Section, G3, Special Operations Division, in the Army Operations Center in the Pentagon. He was not in Iraq during On Point II's timeframe, but did serve as deputy team leader for the Army Operation Center's crisis action ream (CAT) and worked for Major General Peter Chiarelli at the time. The CAT dealt primarily with Title 10 requirements for warfighters - i.e., equipment, manpower and transportation. Bullion was initially involved in generating the mobilization orders that activated National Guard and Army Reserve forces for Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was also responsible for briefing senior Army leadership - typically, the G3, the Vice Chief of Staff and the Chief of Staff of the Army - seven days a week in either so-called "balcony briefs" or in top secret "bunker briefings." Bullion points out how the Department of Defense had to rely more heavily than anticipated on National Guard and Reserve troops. Although the initial rotation was mostly all active duty personnel, a significant portion of combat support and combat service support had to come from the Guard and Reserve. He noted that, "No one thought we would do as many rotations as we have done." He was also surprised at the amount of lead time (up to 60 days) needed to mobilize Guard and Reserve units and to get them where they were needed. The CAT also addressed equipment shortage crises. Body armor and uparmored vehicle issues were the most memorable. Bullion felt that, in general, Guard and Reserve equipment was not up to the standards found in active duty units. Finally, with regard to the rise of the insurgency and whether the coalition had enough troops in OIF, Bullion evoked the old adage that you really cannot control the ground until you have a soldier standing there with a weapon. "You can have all the high-tech gizmos in the world," he said, "but to hold the ground someone has to be there… If you're not there, they [the insurgents] will be."

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Lieutenant Colonel John Bullion is the branch chief of the Policy and Forces Section, G3, Special Operations Division, in the Army Operations Center in the Pentagon. He was not in Iraq during On Point II's timeframe, but did serve as deputy team leader for the Army Operation Center's crisis action ream (CAT) and worked for Major General Peter Chiarelli at the time. The CAT dealt primarily with Title 10 requirements for warfighters - i.e., equipment, manpower and transportation. Bullion was initially involved in generating the mobilization orders that activated National Guard and Army Reserve forces for Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was also responsible for briefing senior Army leadership - typically, the G3, the Vice Chief of Staff and the Chief of Staff of the Army - seven days a week in either so-called "balcony briefs" or in top secret "bunker briefings." Bullion points out how the Department of Defense had to rely more heavily than anticipated on National Guard and Reserve troops. Although the initial rotation was mostly all active duty personnel, a significant portion of combat support and combat service support had to come from the Guard and Reserve. He noted that, "No one thought we would do as many rotations as we have done." He was also surprised at the amount of lead time (up to 60 days) needed to mobilize Guard and Reserve units and to get them where they were needed. The CAT also addressed equipment shortage crises. Body armor and uparmored vehicle issues were the most memorable. Bullion felt that, in general, Guard and Reserve equipment was not up to the standards found in active duty units. Finally, with regard to the rise of the insurgency and whether the coalition had enough troops in OIF, Bullion evoked the old adage that you really cannot control the ground until you have a soldier standing there with a weapon. "You can have all the high-tech gizmos in the world," he said, "but to hold the ground someone has to be there… If you're not there, they [the insurgents] will be."

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