MAJ Bradd Schultz served as a military transition team (MiTT) operations officer (S3) with the 10th Mountain Division in Kabul, Afghanistan during 2003 and 2004 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). In this August 2012 interview, MAJ Schultz discusses the challenges of having platoons in three locations -- Afghanistan, Iraq, and back home at Fort Drum, New York, his duties working with and mentoring the Afghan National Army (ANA), and the especially difficult job of taking care of his Soldiers in Iraq who were suffering significant casualties when the rest of the unit was already home. MAJ Schultz concludes his interview with the observation, "I think that we always saw ourselves as wanting to be more Infantry style focused. Our job was to defend the Infantry from air attack, which is our mission essential task list (METL) and what everything says my job is to do. I also realized that I have to move with them. I'm not always going to be the lucky guy that just stands on the end with a missile on my shoulder. There is other stuff I have to fight and do. Our problem was finding the time to train on stuff; Infantry skills. Everything my job did was all about how well I did air defense, which was my main mission. I understand. Whenever we'd try to do something Infantry style related or tactical wise, it would always get shot down because, 'Your job is to be air defense.' No one is ever going to say, 'ADA platoon, go clear that building,' because they have Infantry guys to do that. You know, the old model. Then, once Iraq and all that went down it was like, 'I don't care who you are. Form your platoon and go out and do that job.' Once they got there they really had to re-train."

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