A medical evacuation officer by trade, Major Michael Pouncey was tasked, as an individual augmentee, to fill a medical information manager position - his secondary area of concentration - with the 109th Area Support Medical Battalion, an Army National Guard unit, from October 2003 to March 2004. When he arrived, the unit had been on the ground in Balad, Iraq, for roughly four months, having come in country originally with the 4th Infantry Division. Pouncey found that the horde of extra computer parts and equipment he brought with him was sorely needed. "Any type of equipment you can get your hands on," he advised, "can be put to use. You're never going to be in a situation where you're going to have equipment laying around that you can't put to use." Among his responsibilities included 24-7 maintenance of the network, making sure it was "always up and running, to include the comms piece there at the battalion headquarters." In this interview, Pouncey speaks from an Active Duty perspective on his experiences, both positive and negative, in working with a National Guard unit. He also offers extensive insights into the individual deployment, in-theater reception and transition of authority processes and, as well, into how future processes can be made more efficient, effective and streamlined.

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