MAJ John Fivian served as company commander of a military police (MP) company in Bagram, Afghanistan during 2002 and 2003, as chief of operations with the 16th MP Brigade at Victory Base, Baghdad, Iraq during 2006 and 2007, and as the operations officer (S3) of the 503rd MP Battalion at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Lightning during 2008 and 2009 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operating Iraqi Freedom (OIF). In this January 2010 interview, MAJ Fivian discusses the challenges of detainee operations and the differences in those operations between Afghanistan and Iraq, his role in convoy escort and route clearance missions in the early days of the engagement in Afghanistan, and his very different duties as the S3 on his third deployment, to Iraq. MAJ Fivian observes, "There's been a certain evolution, I think, in detainee operations. I'm sure each branch would say their own version of this, but there's no quicker way to Capitol Hill than to screw up in detainee operations. The ramifications of a botched detainee operation are huge, and the military police corps has realized that, and always did to a certain extent. Certainly with certain incidents, Abu Ghraib being the key situation. We've grown from that, and I think the military across the board understands that the military police are the subject matter experts for detainee operations."

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