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I was a brand new Detachment Commander, in a Civil Affairs battalion not far away from my home town. Up until that point,  I’d been serving in the Army National Guard, but in order to get promoted to Major, I had been forced to find another unit. It’s complicated.

We had just received our mobilization orders for Iraq, and were headed to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The Reserve Center was a beehive of activity: Our country was going to war, and we would play a part in it.

There was a young Spe...