MAJ Ryan Mayfield served as Alpha Battery commander with 3rd Brigade, 320th Field Artillery (FA) in Mahmudiyah, Iraq during 207 and 2008 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). In this February 2012 interview, MAJ Mayfield discusses his work with the Iraqi Army (IA) battalion his unit was partnered with, the significance of the Sons of Iraq program, and the changing nature of FA missions over the course of US involvement in Iraq. MAJ Mayfield concludes his interview with the observation, "I feel like my biggest observation is one of unit leadership, of whatever unit, the fact that it's not just doing the task. Going out on patrol every day becomes Groundhog Day, and all that, and of course you get caught up in it, but trying to think every day, "Here's how I'm leading my guys," and making sure that they had a sense of that purpose and knew it. Little things like maintaining the discipline of the unit; that's not always something that's appreciated at the time, but that's something that's needed to accomplish the mission, not only to reduce risk and stay safe, but to really have a good and motivated unit."

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