MAJ Karst Brandsma served as commander of the 258th Military Police (MP) Company in Baghdad, Iraq during 2005 and 2006 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). In this November 2010 interview, MAJ Brandsma discusses the role of military police in a combat setting, some of the non-typical training he was able to direct before his unit's deployment, and watching his unit carry on with operations after his unexpected change of command. MAJ Brandsma concludes his interview by observing, "Changes of command, I think, if nothing else, give the unit a chance to reflect on the past few years and look at see how far they've come. You think back on all the guys who have come and gone through the unit and commanders certainly come and go more frequently than any other person in that unit. As they say in the change of command, "The unit guidon lives forever," so what have we done? What have we accomplished over the last two years? I got the unique opportunity that a lot of commanders don't get and that was to hang around for another six months and see the sequel. I know what happens at the end of the movie because I got the sneak peek. It was hard but it was very rewarding."

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