Major Dave Krahl volunteered in December 2001 to deploy to Afghanistan as an individual augmentee in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He was given two weeks notice before having to report into the CONUS Replacement Center at Fort Benning. He was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division staff in charge of automation and his main responsibilities were system maintenance and network structure. About halfway through his deployment, he moved up to the joint automation management office and became the theater network manager. Although headquartered in Bagram throughout the deployment, he got to travel a lot. He went to Kandahar, Kabul and went out to work with the International Security Assistance Force (IASF) as it was standing up. After this deployment, he believes that the Army would be more successful if soldiers get trained in the actual job they will be doing.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited