Major John Nawoichyk served as the joint logistics advisor to the Ministry of Defense and Aviation, Saudi Arabian Land Forces in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from June 2008 through February 2009 as part of the United States Military Training Mission (USMTM) to Saudi Arabia. In this interview, he talks about how he received no handoff because his predecessor decided to get into an argument with a Saudi general about Israel, how his Saudi counterpart, Brigadier General Ahmed, was very helpful in familiarization with the Saudi systems, adjusting to the institutional differences between the Army and the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces, and the challenge of changing your expectations of progress. He also discusses the gap in the professional education needed to succeed at USMTM and what the system will allow, the need to understand the Saudi decision-making process and yearly tempo, the invaluable senior translator who is the real continuity in USMTM, and the tension between taking families to Saudi Arabia and the force protection requirements. He closes the interview by stating that the deployment has taught him patience and how to moderate his normally type-A personality.

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