Major Thomas Wilson grew up as an Army brat and received his commission through the Citadel. He deployed to Iraq in May 2003 as the S2 but soon took over command of Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 94th Field Artillery in support of OIF I and conducted his change of command inventories in Baghdad. He didn't have the benefit of a relief in place/transfer of authority as the unit he replaced had retrograded to Kuwait. Initially he had the job of securing Baghdad International Airport, but within weeks was reassigned as part of Task Force Bullet. His battery was in charge of palletizing all of the ammo that was discovered in Baghdad at a consolidation point north of Abu Ghraib and loading it on HEMTTs for destruction by explosive ordnance disposal (EOD). After several months, they received a change in mission and were assigned to the Al-Sadiyah neighborhood in Baghdad where they conducted cordon and searches, house clearing and other close combat missions. In April, he transitioned his company again to a mission of leadership engagement. He went out on daily patrols and met with imams and local village leaders. Through his constantly evolving mission, he learned to be flexible. The one recommendation he would like to make to the senior leadership is to deploy the troops with the right equipment the first time.

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