Having been assigned to V Corps Artillery since January 2001, Major Robert Berg supported Operation IRAQI FREEDOM through August 2003 principally as the logistics officer (G4); he also, however, filled the roles of ammunition officer and maintenance officer as well due to short-staffing. "Being the G4," he said, "means you run the Administrative and Logistical Operations Center for V Corps Artillery, which also included being in charge of the personnel (G1) cell, so that was an interesting experience for a captain - when the position should be held by a lieutenant colonel." In this interview, Berg discusses the planning, preparation and eventual role artillery played in the major combat phase of OIF, and also the change in mission received upon transition into stability and support operations. As Berg explained: "Of course, once you get in there, you're not really fighting conventional forces any more and since we had tons of trucks for hauling ammo, and since we haul ammo, someone brilliantly said, ‘Okay, you guys are in charge of picking up enemy munitions on the battlefield and hauling them to points for destruction.’” After leaving Iraq, Berg went to the 21st Theater Support Command in Kaiserslautern, Germany, and became the materiel management and maintenance officer, overseeing a reconstitution program that returned thousands of damaged vehicles – from Humvees to M1 tanks – to service. As an addendum to the interview, he tells how his original suggestion that the Army adopt the Dress Blues as the service uniform replacing the Class A was eventually acted upon.

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