Operating in the eastern Mediterranean Sea aboard the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt from February to May 2003, Lieutenant Commander David Walch served as the intelligence officer for Carrier Air Wing Eight. "I basically ran and managed about five different intelligence cells," he said, "that supported the air operations and the strike operations, to include the targeting cell, the strike analysis cell, the mission planning cell and then the briefing and debriefing cell." Walch was intimately involved in preparing each of the air wing assets that flew off the TR's deck in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM I. Among the challenges he and the wing's pilots faced was that the Iraqi integrated air defense system wasn't attrited to any significant degree in the early phase of combat operations, the coalition having chosen instead to focus on a "counter-leadership strategy." Fortunately, Walch had had prior experience as a watch team chief at the Joint Analysis Center, U.S. European Command, where he supported Operation Northern Watch “with indication warning intelligence [and] long-term analysis.” This, he said, “gave me a very good familiarity with our actual enemy and our actual area of operations well in advance.” Reflecting on his unit’s contributions, Walch thought that the “secret to our success was just focusing on making the most of our available training and relying on each other…. We went above and beyond what had to be done and it was noticed.”

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