Major Issac Gipson commanded Bravo Battery, 6th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery in Kuwait and Baghdad, Iraq, from January through June 2003 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In this interview, he talks about his battery's ever-changing command relationships, the lack of effective communications with their battalion headquarters, how his unit slid into the role of convoy escort as the war went on, and the lack of emphasis on force protection throughout the air defense community. He also discusses the challenge of soldier motivation when your primary mission goes away, the confused nature of support relationships, the real payoff from training, and dealing with embedded media. Gipson closes the interview by stating that senior commanders must understand the limitations of the Patriot missile system if they hope to effectively employ it in the future.

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