A team leader with the 96th Civil Affairs (CA) Battalion, Major Larry Dewey and his four-man team were attached to Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group from February to May 2003 and conducted civil-military operations in northern Iraq, principally Irbil, which consisted of everything from civil government support to infrastructure projects. In this interview, Dewey also discusses his work with non-governmental organizations, his relationship with the Kurds in general, the rapport-building strategies he employed, and the myriad monetary and culture-related challenges he faced. For his second Global War on Terrorism deployment, Dewey - still a team leader with the 96th CA Battalion - deployed from September 2004 to March 2005 to Kenya in support of Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, which he called "the best deployment I've ever had. It was a near perfect mission for us." His team was tasked with providing humanitarian aid and assisting civil administration throughout the northeastern and coastal provinces of Kenya, the goal being to “deny support and safe haven to terrorism” and to encourage the local populace to be more supportive of anti-terrorism efforts. In this respect, Dewey recounts his team’s successes, his efforts to move their base of operations to the capital of Nairobi, his work with NGOs, the US Embassy and Kenyan members of parliament, his battles against corruption, as well as the nature and management of “as many as 25 projects with a combined value of $2.1 million.” Dewey also expounds on what it means (and what is required) to be a CA specialist. “You’ve got to be very receptive, cordial and easy to talk to, but, at the same time, very genuine, very honest and maintain that legitimacy and transparency. It’s an art,” he says, “There’s more of an art to CA than any other part of the Army.”

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