Major Kirby Gonyer, an aviation officer from the US Army National Guard based out of Phoenix, Arizona, deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom as commander of C Company, 1st Battalion, 180th Aviation, a UH-60 company, in September 2004, and redeployed in December 2005. His unit mobilized and trained at Fort Sill before deploying to Iraq. During this period, he expressed concern about the politics that inhibited the performance of the National Guard and how training a National Guard company differed from training an active duty company. Stationed out of Balad Airbase in Iraq, Gonyer's company had the opportunity to fly the full length and breadth of the country. His company primarily transported personnel throughout Iraq. With the exception of one night detonation of an improvised explosive device (IED), Gonyer considered the environment fairly benign with respect to his company's operations. He also discussed the status of the maintenance and logistics support available in Balad. One highlight of the year was flying reporters Geraldo Rivera and Christiane Amanpour. He concluded by emphasizing the importance that knowledge has in empowering leaders.

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