MAJ Aaron Morris served as platoon leader and company executive officer (XO) with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment at Camp Speicher, Iraq during 2003 and 2004 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). In this December 2011 interview, MAJ Morris discusses the monumental task of getting all of the unit's equipment in theater, the ongoing challenge of aviation maintenance, and the particulars of Apache security missions. MAJ Morris concludes his interview with the observation, "I think, whether it be through professional development programs or mentorship, we need to teach guys what the next several jobs will look like and what's involved in them. When I got to Germany I could have told you without a doubt that I wouldn't be on the brigade staff until I was getting ready for company command. Well, I was on brigade staff less than a year after I got back from Iraq. I was working in a whole new realm of responsibilities and things needing to be done that I never imagined and I really wasn't prepared for it. It would have been nice to know, "Hey, this is what position X requires." I know some company commanders do that and some officers take that upon themselves but for the most part officer professional development programs are very much a hand wave. I think actually having something relevant to teach junior officers would go a long way."

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