From February through June 2003 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Major Ed Debish, US Marine Corps, served as the communications officer for Combat Service Support Battalion 18, which had the mission of general support for the Marine Expeditionary Force and included a total of four companies numbering some 730 personnel. In this interview, Debish discusses the initial push into Iraq; the setting up and establishment of the comms network at LSA Viper, with it eventually (and unexpectedly) becoming the communications hub; and also the challenge presented by not having a clear picture of the overall comms picture as well as by units that wanted to spread out as far as possible. Debish additionally discusses steady-state operations at LSA Viper; the logistical support for the comms piece; the experience of having embedded reporters in their unit; working with US Army forces; the major professional lessons learned he took away from this deployment and larger comms-related recommendations he'd have for the Marine Corps as a whole.

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