I had just taken command of my company two months into our deployment to Iraq. The outgoing commander had reached his 18 month-mark, and it was time for him to move on.

On March 16th 1968, Chief Warrant Officer Hugh Thomson, Jr. was piloting a Scout helicopter providing air support for ground elements engaged in combat around two hamlets of Son My Village, Quang Ngai Province, Republic of Vietnam.

In September of 2005, Marines of Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, First Marine Division manned Forward Operating Base 'Sparta' in the Anbar Province of Iraq near the town of Haditha; an area known to harbor insurgents. This was the company's third deployment having participated in the Invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the battle for Fallujah in 2004.

It was March 2007 and I had been working with the 1-75th Iraqi Infantry Battalion on a military transition team (MiTT) for just over six months. Tensions were running high as insurgent violence in Baghdad was at historic levels.

As the provost marshal in the Republic of Korea, my military police investigators worked diligently to eliminate black market operations in and around our installation. A main suspect of the Black Market Task Force was the manager of the shoppette on post.

I am a former battery commander who served in an armored cavalry regiment for five years. During my time in command, I deployed with my battery to Iraq on two separate occasions.

I was the Team Chief of a Military Transition Team assigned to an Iraqi Army (IA) Infantry Battalion in Iraq. One evening, I noticed two of the officers in the battalion were leaving the Forward Operating Base (FOB) with four other Iraqi Soldiers to travel to their homes.

You are in an infantry unit serving in Iraq. You have been serving there for eleven months and frankly you are burned out and battle hardened. You have lost several good men to the insurgents and a few to accidents. Your unit has a reputation for being fierce in battle and has become very skilled in urban combat.

The city raged with automatic rifle fires, combat aviation, and various grenades. The coalition assault on the mosque continued with coalition snipers on rooftops engaged in a counter-sniper fight. Beneath me, Soldiers from my unit continued their assault.

"Every day is a challenge in Iraq. You often have two seconds to go back and soul search, and once you make a decision, you have to live with it. You should always ask yourself, "Is what I am about to do right or wrong?"

"In the most difficult of situations, make decisions based on your sense of honor, not emotion, and it will not fail you. Your soldiers and subordinates will respect you more for it."

I was a Company Commander at a TRADOC installation where my unit shared a building with a United States Marine Corps (USMC) detachment. The two units got along well, but there was not much interaction between them: we stuck to ourselves.

SPC Joe Darby was from an Army Reserve unit from a small town. SPC Darby had been in Iraq for seven months when he was first handed the photographs on a CD. It was lent to him by a colleague, Charles Graner.

My unit had an important job. It was responsible for operational level logistics planning for Central Command's (CENTCOM) war fighting mission. Unfortunately, some of its leaders seemed to take advantage of their deployed situation by focusing on their own personal interests rather than on the mission.

In past weeks, insurgents adjusted their tactics and began tossing grenades at US patrols as they passed under bridges. As my patrol approached, we noticed a grenade fly over the top of our HMMWV, then fall to the water and explode. Next, we saw a young man running away.

During Operation Iraqi Freedom II, my first tour in Iraq, I was an engineer company commander in the Nineveh Province. My company was administratively assigned to an infantry battalion.

A specialist in my company came into my office one morning after going on sick call. The Soldier had a reputation in the command for being a hard worker and doing his job.

I was deep into my fourth rotational deployment to Afghanistan with the 96th Civil Affairs (CA) Company. We had been working in the same general area of operations (AO) for about 2-1/2 years, so we knew the people and the terrain well.

Iraq, a year after the war began, the insurgents had organized, newspapers splashed beheadings across their front pages, and American deaths were climbing. It was hot, and the footfalls of Abu Ghraib echoed in the minds of all of us.

I was a new sniper-qualified scout serving in an armored battalion on operations in Iraq; I had just pinned on Specialist rank. Another scout and I were paired up and given pretty good missions to provide over-head cover for our company in a pretty dangerous part of western Baghdad.

Halfway through our deployment, Corps headquarters issued a directive requiring units to forward all detainees to the nearest Detainee Internment Facility (DIF) within 24 hours of the time of detainment. Prior to the directive being issued we could hold detainees for 72 hours.

You are the company commander of an elite unit and you are part of an elite battalion. You have been in Iraq for eleven months now. You love command and you love your boss. He has charisma and is the best leader you have ever seen. Everybody respects him not only because of his two time BZ selections but because of his "take no prisoners warrior ethos."

During my recent Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) deployment, I was assigned as a Military Transition Team (MiTT) Chief. During the deployment, each battalion-level maneuver element in the Brigade Combat Team (BCT) was partnered with an Iraqi Army (IA) battalion (BN).

In May 2007, my wingman and I were on a routine patrol over Southern Baghdad in our AH-64Ds when a dynamic re-tasking request was received over the radio. We changed radio frequencies to contact the supported unit.

Heavy enemy pressure has resulted in orders for all units to move a mile to the rear to more defensible positions. LT Taggart's platoon has packed up and is ready to move. Taggart has a special mission in the adjustment.