Major Christopher Hartline deployed to Kuwait and Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from April 2003 through January 2004 as the commander of Alpha Company, 3rd Battalion, 67th Armor, 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division. They had several months notice of the deployment due to the delay in them being diverted from Turkey to Kuwait. Once he arrived in Kuwait, it took him four days to locate all of his equipment. After a short pause he loaded his tanks on heavy equipment transporters and moved out. On the move north to and at Balad, his company had several engagements with the enemy. Once on station they conducted raids, cordon and searches, civil-military operations, and counter-improvised explosive device operations. One of his biggest struggles and greatest lessons learned was that words have meaning, especially when it comes to command and support relationships. He also concludes that the Army needs to focus more on training at the company- and platoon-level due to the small scale operations in Iraq.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited