In Iraq from April to September 2004, Major Neal Croft of the British Army served as the operations officer for 1st Mechanized Brigade, a subordinate element of Multinational Division-Southeast. Based in Saddam Hussein's former palace in Basra City for the first half of his tour and then at the hotel in Basra Air Station for the second half, Croft's responsibilities "entailed, among other things, giving guidance and coordinating instructions to the battle groups and units within the brigade." These included 1st Battalion, Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment; 1st Battalion, Cheshire Regiment; 1st Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers; as well as the Danish battle group. He also compiled situation reports, facilitated a wide variety of assets for the units' use, and helped oversee four key lines of operation - security, governance, the economy and essential services - towards the goal of supporting the Coalition Provisional Authority, and then the Iraqi Interim Government, "in getting the country back on its feet.” In this interview, Croft also discusses relations with Iraqi religious figures, his thoughts on the media, and offers a British perspective on the conduct of counterinsurgency operations. “I think we’ve probably got a number of things we can bring,” he said. “The most important of those is just a lot of experience mainly through the shrinking of the Empire, so to speak, and the final dissolution of it: our withdrawal from those various countries, and also dealing with countries around the world almost continuously for the last century and before.” In addition, Croft offers advice to international officers about to serve in a coalition environment and also explains why he thinks his unit was “better trained than any British brigade had been for a while.”

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