Assigned to 1st Battalion, 21st Field Artillery - part of the 5th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division - the 68th Chemical Company, commanded by Major Kevin Kugel, deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from March 2004 through March 2005. In this interview, he discusses how his company was tasked to patrol a large, mostly rural, area of southern Baghdad and that these included security patrols, psychological operations and civil affairs type missions. Based at Camp Falcon, Kugel's company also participated in several battalion-level raids and conducted explosive ordnance disposal escort missions and hazardous material response team missions. Addressing a number of leadership challenges he faced, Kugel talks about his having to meet and assume command of the 68th in theater and how he dealt with morale issues among his soldiers, many of whom had already been to Iraq once before and were either stop-lossed or stop-moved. He additionally reflects upon the Iraqi elections in his area and why he believes that "we really turned the populace's attitude around."

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