In this joint interview, conducted while both were at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, attending the Pre-Command Course, Colonel David Paschal and Colonel David McCauley discuss their Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom deployments, respectively, as well as offer a wide variety of insights into the present and future challenges facing senior Army leaders. In the case of Colonel Paschal, he commanded 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment in Afghanistan from August 2003 through May 2004, his being the first infantry battalion to co-locate and operate with a provincial reconstruction team. He also talks about working with Afghan security forces and local leaders to help support the transitional government during a period of time when "the Taliban was in a strategic pause to regroup." In terms of the electoral process, Paschal observes that, in Bosnia and Kosovo, "We had elections for district chiefs and only after that did we work our way up to the regional and national elections. We did it the exact opposite in Afghanistan, though," he lamented. "We had them voting for the president first - and most of these people didn't even know what it meant to vote." In addition, Paschal speaks at length on the need to "break down some barriers between the military and the State Department that have built up over the years," and identifies what he considers are serious deficiencies in our approach to the "economic, political and social factors" that fuel insurgencies. For his part, McCauley commanded 2nd Battalion, 18th Field Artillery Regiment during and immediately after the initial ground campaign in Iraq, and was involved not only in combat ops but also collecting enemy ammunition and equipment, and training the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps. "My FA unit," he explained, "was really the poster child for what the chief of staff of the Army was talking about: general purpose soldiers who are transforming in stride and working outside their core competencies." McCauley added: "What I have learned professionally is that our officer education system has been pretty good, especially on the combat arms side. I still argue that if you train to your mission essential task list and your core competencies to be a field artilleryman, that's pretty all encompassing. It means you're capable of being an infantryman, you do have a broad understanding of the battlespace and you're also able to adapt and tailor your role for any mission that comes up." The waging of counterinsurgencies, the advisory process and measures needed to bridge the civil-military and cultural gaps in foreign countries are topics discussed by both as well.

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