In this second of two interviews concerning his Operation Iraqi Freedom deployments, Major Scott Schumacher discusses his April 2005 to March 2006 tour as part of a special police transition team (SPTT). In an Active Component/Reserve Component position with 2nd Brigade, 78th Division (Training Support) when the division got tasked to provide 116 soldiers for the advisory mission, Schumacher recalled that he was "in a bar having a beer when I got the call, and I quickly switched from beer to scotch." Assigned to coach, teach and mentor what was then known as the Iraqi Public Order Division (now the 2nd National Police Division), Schumacher was specifically advising the division's operations and logistics officers and, overall, was part of a team responsible for providing coalition effects, going on operations with the Iraqis, coordinating equipment for them and doing infrastructure contracts. He discusses as well the tremendous time crunches they always seemed to be under, constantly being on the go, which posed a challenge in terms of allowing them to spend adequate time with their Iraqi counterparts. For their part, says Schumacher, the Iraqis compared rather favorably to certain US National Guard and Reserve officers above him. "That was more difficult for us than it was working with the Iraqis," he said. "The Iraqis were very easy to work with. They wanted to listen. They wanted to learn. They wanted to improve and we would always compromise and get things done together. They were very willing to work. My counterparts at higher levels just didn't want to listen to me, I think, because I was a captain. That was very frustrating." Schumacher also talks about how the Iraqi populace felt about the Public Order Division, reporting that while it took some six to eight months for them to come around and accept them as protectors and not oppressors, by the time he left a major transition had been made. In addition, Schumacher comments on the media-savvy commander of the Iraqi Public Order Division; the need to task whole US divisions with the advisory mission instead of sending over piecemeal teams; how and why he felt he learned more about leading by example from being on this SPTT than he ever did while in troop command; and finally his belief that the Iraqis "want us to leave so they can get on with their lives and work things out on their own."

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited