Major Tim Bairstow deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom as a company commander in 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines (2/2) in February 2004. His infantry company of "East Coast" Marines flew to Kuwait, drew not only their equipment but more than 70 vehicles to convoy north into Iraq after some additional live-fire training. Developing the skills - driving, use of night vision goggles, etc. - for operating as a motorized company added an element of difficulty for Bairstow's men and the battalion as the unit usually owned only two vehicles. The battalion initially operated south of Baghdad, in and around Latifiyah. After relieving US Army elements of the 101st Airborne Division, Bairstow's company began its "commuter war": platoon-sized elements would sortie into the area of operations for a day or two. Bairstow often attended kada'as, or town council meetings, as his men operated around Latifiyah with its critical main supply routes, including Highway 1. The battle rhythm whipsawed Bairstow's men back and forth between support for stability and support operations (SASO) and combat operations such as ambushes against a backdrop of increasing IEDs, mortars and rocket-propelled grenade attacks. Bairstow's company participated in the first battle of Fallujah in April 2004, then had to transition back to SASO in and around Zaidon. In Zaidon, Bairstow and his company focused on civil affairs projects and reconstruction while maintaining security while operating out of a company-sized firebase. Flexibility was the keyword identified by Bairstow for the constant tension between SASO requirements for accessibility and the strains of the intermittent combat operations like those required in Fallujah. Predeployment scenario-based training and drilling the rules of engagement into his Marines helped Bairstow's unit deal with this tension. Frustration arose from the pace of operations that often moved his unit just as they began to develop rapport. At tour's end, Bairstow's company turned all equipment except for individual weapons over to a Reserve Component Marine unit and retuned to the US from Baghdad International Airport.

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