From November 2006 through November 2007 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Major William Arnold served as the executive officer, logistics advisor and some-time intelligence advisor on a military transition team (MiTT), tasked with force generating, standing up and advising a Taji-based logistics battalion in the 9th Iraqi Army Division (Mechanized). In this interview, Arnold discusses the lack of information available prior to deploying about what constituted being on a MiTT; the predeployment training received at Fort Riley; the family support challenges that being on a MiTT entailed; the taking on of a second, more experienced Iraqi logistics battalion upon arriving; as well as a variety of life support difficulties. Arnold also talks about the operations done by the more established battalion, and then the force generating, training, equipping and establishment of infrastructure that his MiTT did with the other battalion, eventually getting them up to initial operational capability by the time they left. In addition, he discusses his work with some excellent interpreters; the overall training team objective of working themselves out of a job; and the fact that, in his estimation, only about 50 percent of the people being chosen for MiTT assignments are the right people. Arnold also pointed to corruption and the Iraqis' lack of confidence in their logistics system as the two main reasons why it wasn't working.

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