Major Gary Farley deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003 as the commander of Charlie Company, 44th Signal Battalion, 7th Signal Brigade out of Mannheim, Germany. His company was originally slated to be attached to the 4th Infantry Division on its move through Turkey. With the northern route denied by Turkey, he was redirected to Kuwait. He arrived in Kuwait with an advanced party approximately five weeks before his trail elements. His company provided communications support from several different nodes, to include Basra, Kuwait, Baghdad and Babylon. He also worked with the Marines, British and Polish forces, and the State Department. The most valuable experience he had prior to the deployment was participating in Exercise Combined Endeavor, the largest command and control exercise in the world. It prepared him and his unit for the interoperability of the various organizations and countries' communication equipment that they dealt with. His unit was dispersed throughout Kuwait and Iraq and his biggest professional lesson learned was don't wait until you're in a combat situation to empower your leaders. Junior leaders need to be able to go into the jungle, figure it out, and keep moving forward.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited