Major James Tenpenny deployed to Afghanistan in April 2006 as aide-de-camp to the commanding general of all coalition forces in country, Lieutenant General Karl Eikenberry. He spent most of his time circulating the battlefield with Eikenberry and various Afghan government ministers and also coordinating the details of Eikenberry's trips and meetings. In this interview, beyond providing some revealing insights into his boss' personality and command style, Tenpenny says that there's absolutely no training that can prepare someone to be a general's aide and that it was a highly stressful and intimidating job. He also candidly discusses his personal successes as well as the times he didn't live up to the general's expectations. That said, he added, only half-jokingly, "My single biggest accomplishment was that I didn't get fired and the boss was able to accomplish his mission." According to Tenpenny, "That's always a measure of success, whether or not you get fired as an aide. If you get an officer evaluation report (OER) from your boss, chances are you did well. If you get fired during the first 90 days, you won't have to get an OER." Tenpenny additionally talks about the key assistance provided by the general's interpreter, his relationship with other key members of Eikenberry's inner circle, how the general dealt with the media, and the added complexities caused by the standing down of Combined Forces Command-Afghanistan and the International Security Assistance Force taking over previously US-held regional commands. Tenpenny also shares his thoughts on Afghan National Army development and working with US embassies. This was the first time in his Army career that he was able to see things from a strategic level, and the biggest thing he would recommend changing is to better incorporate Reserve and National Guard training with the Active units they're teamed up with. There needs to be some stateside joint training events, Tenpenny said, that are held before units deploy to an area of operations in order to build trust and cooperation.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited