From March 2004 through February 2005 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Major Alan Boyer commanded Fox Troop, 9th Cavalry (F-9 CAV), which operated as the brigade reconnaissance troop for 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division. In this interview, he begins by discussing the nature and scope of his predeployment training and, in this vein, explains why he's now "off the culture bandwagon" when it comes to preparing soldiers for overseas tours. Based in Iraq at FOB Grey Wolf in the Green Zone, Boyer's troop operated as the brigade's quick reaction force and, additionally, performed missions that spanned the widest range of full-spectrum operations, including raids, the escort of dignitaries, assistance with the June 2004 transfer of sovereignty and the January 2005 Iraqi national elections. "You name it," he said, "we did it." One event he discusses in great detail is the May 2004 assassination of Iraqi interim president Ezzedine Salim by a car bomb and his troop's role in the immediate aftermath. "It wasn't something we weren't trained to do," he said, "but the strategic nature of that mission was something that opened my eyes very quickly to what I was about to do for the rest of the year in Iraq." Boyer also talks about how his troop inherited the personal security detachment mission for the five tier-one Iraqi Interim Government officials; how an operation he organized and executed came to a rather humorous but instructive end; and how he and his men dealt with the high amount of enemy contact they received on Baghdad's notorious Haifa Street. During his tour, Boyer said, his troop "worked directly for every battalion in the brigade," which at its height numbered about eight or nine. In addition, he discusses the Godfather-like business practices of the Iraqis and how they impacted his use of interpreters; the total lack of any morale or unit motivation issues he had; his thoughts on the delineation of responsibility between the US military and the State Department; the "organizational friction" that was rampant among agencies working in the Green Zone; his extensive contacts with the media, including a number of big-name journalists; as well as his time on the brigade staff for the last two months of his deployment. In closing, Boyer explains why the powers that be need to throw out all their "preconceived notions" about warfare in the contemporary environment and why he's opposed to "undefined endstates" and "multiple yearlong rotations."

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