ABSTRACT
As I watched US Forces on CNN invade Iraq in a blitzkrieg of tanks, jets and countless other combat and support vehicles in early 2003, I could not help but feel consternation at the thought of not leading a cavalry troop into high-intensity conflict. Stationed at Fort Irwin as a commander of one of the Opposing Force (OPFOR) Cavalry Troops at the National Training Center, I felt that the talents of arguably the best-trained desert fighting unit, the world-class OPFOR, were being wasted in mock battles involving high-tech laser-tag. The common joke among my peers was that unless the world decided to start World War III, the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR) did not have a chance of being deployed to fight. We accepted our role as the trainers for Army Brigades, in which we provided the most highly skilled enemy they could possibly face. We understood that we were the final exam for units before they deployed into harm’s way. Little did I know that I would find myself on a C-17 in a few short months as part of a handpicked team of approximately 28 officers and senior enlisted noncommissioned officers (NCOs) on our way to Afghanistan to embed as advisors with the newly forming Afghanistan National Army (ANA).
