Letters from Baghdad Volume 2: Herding Cats

“Letters from Baghdad Vol 2: Herding Cats” follows Volume 1. In Vol 2, COL (Ret) Mike Courts continues documenting his Iraq experiences through weekly letters. During the 2009-10 period, Mike deployed as Deputy Chief of Staff (DCOS) for I Corps as the HQs assumed the role of Multi-National Corps-Iraq (MNC-I). His role and experiences were very different from his first tour covered in Vol 1. As 2009 began, the United States experienced a change in leadership, moving from the Bush to the Obama Administration. With this came new guidance. The Iraq mission moved from a multi-national effort to a U.S.-only mission. As the U.S. began a planned drawdown, six major HQs were consolidated into one. As the DCOS, Mike worked closely with his counterparts at the other major HQs to plan the drawdown and consolidation and develop an organizational structure that could satisfy the mission requirements while meeting the prescribed workforce limitations. The relationship with Iraqi forces changed as more responsibility was transferred to the Iraqis. In addition to the mission-based challenges, COL Courts was responsible for the internal workings of a 1200-man staff (hence the subtitle “Herding Cats”). A large staff's daily life provided drama and comedy, as life in the Al Faw Palace on Victory Base was never dull. Following the format of Vol. 1, Vol 2 contains weekly lessons learned that assist the reader in understanding the broader implications of the U.S. mission in Iraq.

By Michael Courts