Master Sergeant Robert Ochsner II deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from May 2003 through July 2004 with the Brigade Reconnaissance Troop (BRT), part of 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division. In this interview, he discusses the various missions his BRT was tasked with, his dealings with looters, his work with civil affairs and psychological operations soldiers, interactions with Iraqi civilians, the taking of casualties as a result of improvised explosive devices, and in addition evaluates in general how the BRT was employed over the course of his 15-month deployment. "We went from being the BRT super troopers," he said, "the best guys in the brigade - very elite - to just a bunch of dirtbags driving around in circles escorting everybody. We got used and abused. They beat the crap out of us and wore our assets down to nothing." Ochsner also discusses a wide variety of weapons and equipment issues, from M4 rifles to uniforms to armoring issues with the Humvees. Reflecting on his tour and as advice to others, Ochsner said, "You have to be flexible because you don't know what mission you're going to have going into anything. You have to be aggressive. If you're passive - especially in the Arab world - Arabs take kindness as a sign of weakness, so you have to be aggressive, but at the same time you have to show compassion for people too. You can't be bullying people - then you lose friends. So you have to find a happy medium of being aggressive and being able to solve problems when they arise."

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