In this November 2012 interview, MAJ Shawn Wangerin, US Army, Engineer; discusses his deployment to Iraq as a company commander and brigade engineer in the joint project management office (JPMO) for 2nd Brigade Combat Team (BCT), 101st Airborne Division in 2007 through 2008 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). MAJ Wangerin starts his interview by detailing his background with the Army. He talks about his pre-deployment training and talks about how he was able to prepare his Soldiers for their deployment to Iraq. He describes his day-to-day missions with gathering intelligence through his interaction with the locals and he discusses a couple of air assault missions he went on in efforts to capture insurgents. He talks about transitioning out of command midway through his deployment and transitioning into his brigade engineer role. He describes his new missions of managing Commander's Emergency Response Program (CERP) and details other projects he did for 2nd BCT in the JPMO cell. He recalls a specific memory of an insurgent attack on an Iraqi Police station resulting in seven fatalities and discusses some difficult challenges he faced post-deployment. MAJ Wangerin closes his interview by reflecting back on his deployment experience, "Our brigade did an excellent job; everybody got the culture training."

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