Lieutenant Colonel Rodney W. Symons II is currently a strategic planner at the US Army's Armor School at Fort Knox. He was deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from July 2004 to July 2005. Symons was initially an advisor to the 3rd Iraqi Army Brigade working under the Coalition Military Assistance Training Team (CMATT) and Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq (MNSTC-I). Later, he assumed responsibility for building the Iraqi 9th Mechanized Division and the Iraqi 1st Motorized Division. Former Iraqi Army equipment (T-55s, MTLBs, BMPs and Chieftans), along with donations from several NATO countries were used to outfit the mechanized division. Hungary, in particular, provided numerous T-72 tanks. Symons focused the Iraqi training on mission essential tasks, such as raids, cordon and searches and checkpoint operations. Also, since they spoke the language, Iraqi Army soldiers were able to obtain significant amounts of intelligence information from the local citizens. 6th Battalion, 9th Mechanized Division took part in combat operations in Samarra, while the 5th and 7th Battalions participated in the second battle of Fallujah. Symons was with the Marine Corps' 7th Regimental Combat Team to oversee 5th and 7th battalions' performance during the fighting. After Fallujah was taken, the Iraqi soldiers began providing humanitarian assistance (food and medical) for the local residents who had begun returning to the city. Symons' units experienced a 40 percent attrition rate once the Iraqi soldiers realized that they would actually be expected to fight insurgents. Also, unfortunately, a busload of Iraqi soldiers stopped at a checkpoint run by insurgents in disguise. The insurgents dragged the soldiers off the bus and executed them all. Overall, Symons believes that we have to empower the Iraqis and that we have to let them go and do things for themselves.

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