In this interview, MAJ Kris Howell, US Army, Armor, discusses his deployment to Iraq as a troop commander in 2008 through 2009 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). MAJ Howell talks about finding out about his deployment while he was on his previous deployment. He discusses his pre-deployment training and learning about a change in his area of operation roughly three weeks before deploying and describes his immediate responsibilities once he arrived in country. He details out a typical day and talks about his patrolling mission. MAJ Howell describes how he was able to boost morale for his Soldiers and closes his interview by stating, "Train the Soldiers to understand why, not just do the task but to understand it deeply and understand the purpose behind it and to constantly communicate with your Soldiers."

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