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Photo Essay - MOAA in Iraq 2008
Introduction to Photo Essay
Last year, I observed our counterinsurgency strategy beginning to make a real difference. Twelve months later, the security perspective is significantly improved. This year, the emphasis throughout the force is shrinking the American presence and letting the Iraqi security forces take the lead. From my personal perspective, the Iraqi military seems to have gained some confidence and made some real strides.
The key now is delivering not only a secure environment but also a better quality of life. Oil revenue is significantly up, and there is a real effort throughout the country to improve the delivery of electricity and get lots more people working. The provincial elections are scheduled for this fall but may slide due to politics at the Iraqi national level.
Our troops are doing a remarkable job. Almost all that I met are on their second or third 12- to 15-month deployment. Morale remains high, due to the remarkable leadership that exists throughout the force as well as the tremendous sense of mission and teamwork. The troops are worried about the tempo of repeated deployments on the horizon and the impact on their families, but grateful for the support they continue to see in such initiatives as the new GI Bill and its transferability provision.
Everywhere I went, key officers came up to me and said they were an MOAA member and appreciated all that we were doing on their behalf. (NCOs came up to me as well.) I return home with an even greater sense of urgency for our mission and tremendous pride in our military, our nation, and our great organization.
