The assistant division aviation officer in the 82nd Airborne Division - i.e., the primary planner for aviation operations - Major Ciro Stefano deployed to Bagram, Afghanistan, in August 2002 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and redeployed in March of the following year. In this interview, he begins by discussing a less-than-ideal handoff and then outlines the various duties and responsibilities he had. "I had to facilitate the planning for missions with Joint Special Operations Command elements," Stefano explained, with "combined joint special operations task force elements and, of course, all the 82nd and aviation support working with whoever the aviation task force was at the time. We went through two different task forces and deconflicting the way they cycle the aircraft in, where aircraft were prioritized. In other words, we had to prioritize the aircraft and we had to handle any medical evacuations or any troops-in-contact type missions." Stefano was also heavily involved in developing logistical ring routes that made the receipt of resupplies more reliable and predictable. Although he had a full plate of additional obligations - from briefing the commanding general and being available if senior staff officers had aviation-related questions - Stefano, due to the dire need for pilots, flew quite a bit himself. "I could have flown literally every day because they needed me that badly," he said. In addition, he discusses working with other government agencies and special operations elements, explains why he believes shorter rotations are necessary, describes a variety of maintenance concerns that arose from worn-out aircraft and, moreover, what he has observed since as the loss of senior warrant officers and others due to burn-out and the wearying effects of multiple deployments. "Even though it's duty, honor, country," Stefano said, "you can only go so far when your family and kids are growing up. You only have one shot. That's kind of the theme I see. I have over 20 years in the Army and I'm being asked why I'm still in. Some folks understand and some don't. There's a certain brotherhood. There's something about being a soldier. But there will be a point where I too will say I've had enough. That said, Stefano had very positive things to say about his working environment. "Every operation we did," he said, "everything was smooth. It was a great place to work and learn. Better than anywhere else I've ever worked as far as function, planning and making combat ops happen." Stefano had far less flattering things to say about Lithuanian special operations forces they worked with, but praised the performance and skill of the Germans, Australians and Italians.

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