From March through August 2003 as part of the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) - and member of the first DCMA team to enter Iraq - Lieutenant Commander Colin O'Brien served as the administrative contracting officer on several task orders under the US Army Logistics Civilian Augmentation Program (LOGCAP) contract, covering Mardin, Turkey, the internment facility of Camp Bucca in Iraq, the 101st Airborne Division in Tikrit, Baghdad International Airport, Camp Victory and 1st Armored Division bases also in Baghdad. During this rotation, he was involved in the setting up of camps and dining facility contracts and, in this interview, discusses his dealings with "camp mayors" in the planning and implementation of these contracts, general contract processes, working with contractors, and overseeing the profits awarded to them. For his second tour, O'Brien covered Camp Bucca again, Coalition Crossing/Camp Navistar on the Kuwait/Iraq border and, in Kuwait itself, Camp Udairi, Ali Al Salem Airbase and the aerial port of debarkation, namely Kuwait International Airport. Reflecting on his March to August 2004 experiences, O’Brien talks about camp upgrades and a number of civilians-on-the-battlefield issues. He also describes problems associated with evacuating sick and wounded contractors from the combat zone.

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