From March 2004 through March 2005 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Major Chris Baer commanded the 369th Transportation Company, US Army Reserve - a palletized load system (PLS) unit based in Wichita, Kansas, that ended up being cross-leveled with soldiers from 32 different states. In this interview, Baer discusses the full range of transportation support that the 369th provided in theater, which included distribution of Class I, Class III bulk, Class V and Class IX all throughout Iraq, with specific focus on Baghdad and the Diyala Province. He also talks about working under the 7th Transportation Battalion, running combat logistics patrols, pulling their own convoy security during a period of high insurgent activity, his leadership philosophy, communications challenges he had to deal with and his excellent working relationship with his first sergeant. Baer said that the most rewarding aspect of his year-long deployment was "that we took this conglomeration of soldiers from across the country and in a very short period of time molded them together as a cohesive, disciplined team. They did a phenomenal job of going outside the wire every day for a year doing combat logistics patrols," he added, "delivering the required commodities to the warfighters so they could do their job."

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