In this March 2013 interview, MAJ Luke Mercier, US Army, Aviation, discusses his deployment to Iraq as an assistant operations officer and troop commander for 1-6 CAV in 2008 through 2009 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). MAJ Mercier talks about his missions of patrolling, route reconnaissance, looking for improved explosive devices (IEDs), providing security for patrols and operations raids. He describes his role as the assistant operations officer and talks about his daily routine. He discusses how great it was to take command and shares how he was able to boost morale for his Soldiers. He shares a specific memory of acquiring an A-Team van and discusses the handoff to the incoming brigade. MAJ Mercier closes his interview by stating, "Well, I think one lesson, which is not necessarily from the second deployment, per se, but a combination of my deployments, is to be open to suggestions. On my first deployment, we flew a specific way all the time and some of the pilots in the squadron the first time suggested we change to a different way and it was pretty well shot down on the face of it before we really tried it. Then, on my second deployment, we ended up flying a lot in the manner that was suggested in the first deployment and I was able to see more. You end up getting a different perspective on things."

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