In this first of two interviews, Major Elmer Bontrager talks about commanding the Headquarters and Service Battery, 3rd Battalion, 6th Field Artillery in Kandahar, Afghanistan, from July 2003 through April 2004 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He discusses predeployment training, the unit's dispersed deployment in Afghanistan and his push to maximize the use of ground transportation for supply. He also talks about the difficulties of redeploying to the United States, the importance of focusing on language and cultural training, and the role his wife played as the battery's family readiness group leader. Bontrager closes the interview by stressing the need to be always prepared for enemy contact.

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