Six months into his January 2005 through January 2006 tour in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Major Philip Graham went from being a battle major conducting and coordinating air missions for 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, to being the leader of a military transition team (MiTT) with responsibility to coach, teach and mentor 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade of the 4th Iraqi Army Division - an infantry battalion that he, as an aviation officer, thought was a "rather unique" assignment. Based in Samarra on FOB 7 and partnered with 3-69 Armor (located at nearly FOB Brassfield-Mora), Graham immediately began building rapport with the Iraqi battalion staff, concentrating more on personal interactions which, as he said, he considered "much more critical than the pure tactical side of the house." In this interview, he discusses in great detail the full range of his advisory experiences, from the nature of the support his MiTT received from 3-69 and the progress he thought his Iraqi battalion was making, to the myriad challenges he faced in this position. These included problems concerning the Iraqis' work schedule, cultural differences that had to be understood and overcome, as well as, in his estimation, the fact that MiTTs are "often misunderstood by the rest of the Army" and, as a result, are sometimes "pushed off as an external element." In addition, Graham talks about the qualities that good MiTT members and good MiTT leaders possess, how he task organized his team, how his prior service as an observer-controller assisted him in this advisory role, the kinds of missions his Iraqi battalion would perform and, also, the types of training they were put through. He, moreover, discusses the use and availability of interpreters, the ethnic and geographic breakdown of his battalion, how it was conducting missions in the volatile city of Samarra, what motivated Iraqis to join the army, how they were viewed by the local population and, above all, the necessity of adequate support linkages between the Iraqi battalion, the MiTT and the US partnership unit, which he felt could have been better. "We push these few small teams out there to do certain things," Graham said, "and then we forget that linkage of whose job it really is. It's not a MiTT's job to turn this Iraqi battalion around; it's a joint effort between everyone there. The American battalion that's partnered with them is there to assist the MiTT, which is there as a liaison element to help focus that effort." Overall, though, Graham felt his MiTT assignment was not only an important one but a positive and professionally developing experience as well.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited