Captain Shawn O'Brien served on a military transition team (MiTT) initially with the 9th Iraqi Army Division's Logistics and Administration (L&A) Battalion and then later with the 1st Motor Transport Regiment in the areas of Al Rashid and Habbaniyah in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from April 2007 until April 2008. After coming back into the Army after being out for two years, O'Brien requested to be deployed to Iraq for what would be a second time. He reported to Fort Riley for predeployment training and joined Class 18. O'Brien talks about the training schedule, what parts of the training were the most useful and what would have been time better spent focusing on other types of training. He made several attempts to contact the MiTT leader already in theater without success, so he was unaware of the location of the MiTT he would be joining. The timeline prior to the movement over and the movement over itself did not go as smooth as he would have liked. O'Brien received additional training at Camp Buehring and Taji Academy and then flew into Al Rashid where he was met by the MiTT he would be working with. The MiTT was paired up with the 9th Iraqi Army division L&A Battalion, where their primary focus was conducting checkpoints. The MiTT had one female, however she was relocated to Taji because the jundis and the Iraqi battalion commander kept giving her a hard time. The MiTT had five interpreters to assist in communication and provide in-depth conversations about the Iraqi customs, culture and religion. O'Brien talks about the challenges he faced as a maintenance mentor and working with the battalion. After spending six months at Al Rashid, O'Brien moved to Habbaniyah and joined the 1st Motor Transport Regiment to assist a Marine MiTT. O'Brien looks at the differences between the two MiTTs and how he was able to adjust into the new team. O'Brien discusses his tasking, primary duties and the training program for the Iraqis. The convoys did have enemy contact every time, with the exception of the last convoy before redeploying. The first MiTT he was on had casualties as a result of an explosively formed penetrator into one of the vehicles, resulting in the death of the interpreter and gunner. O'Brien discusses the challenges he faced while attached to the second MiTT and how it was working with the Marines. O'Brien had difficulty obtaining a flight to redeploy, which meant he sat around a little longer than he would have liked to in Iraq and Kuwait. The demobilization at Fort Riley was simple and easy to maneuver through. O'Brien offers his lessons learned and recommendations based on this deployment. The family readiness group kept in contact and notified his parents when he would return to Fort Riley.

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