From October 2002 through January 2003, CW4 Nate Jones served as the air and missile defense planner with 5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery, Task Force Cobra, in Tel Aviv, Israel. Then, from January until May 2003, he moved to Turkey for service with Task Force North. In this interview, he discusses working and training with the Israelis on the Patriot and Arrow weapons systems, as well as the excellent relationship they enjoyed with the Israelis, despite such relatively minor issues as language barriers. With respect to his time in Turkey, Jones talks about moving Patriot batteries into country in expectation for a possible northern front in the eventual invasion of Iraq; the difficulties encountered therein, most notably a Greek ship laden with ammunition being denied entry into Turkish ports; establishing operations on Incirlik Airbase; how there are a number of key misunderstandings in the Army when it comes to Patriot operations; and also how US Patriot batteries were integrated seamlessly with Dutch batteries, thanks to an excellent training regimen. Jones closes his interview by praising the efforts of the Turkish government and military; lauding his battalion’s aggressive media engagement plan and its attention to family readiness; and also saying how joint and combined operations need to be focused on more intensely.

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