From October 2003 to April 2004, Major Douglas Schenck worked in the J5 at U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. In his duty position as ground operations officer, Schenck dealt directly with Pacific Rim countries, such as South Korea, the Philippines, Singapore and Tonga, and was responsible for acquiring assets and forces from each country. He would then help integrate them into theater in support of the Global War on Terrorism, specifically for Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Assessing each country's capabilities, negotiating with their representatives, participating in goodwill exercises and accommodating each one's often sensitive political limitations were particularly challenging for Schenck; but they were also rewarding and, all together, made for an important learning experience. "As they say," he noted, "the U.S. is not going to war by itself again and so it helps you to understand a little more some of the issues that various countries have. And when you’re exposed to certain countries,” he added, “talking to their professionals at arms, you can kind of see where they’re coming from. In that sense, it’s going to benefit you.”

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