Embedded

EMBEDDED

BY WESLEY R. GRAY

NAVAL INSTITUTE PRESS

A
NNAPOLIS
, M
ARYLAND

The latest edition of this work has been brought to publication with the generous assistance of Marguerite and Gerry Lenfest.

Naval Institute Press

291 Wood Road

Annapolis, MD 21402

© 2009 by United States Naval Institute

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

ISBN 978-1-61251-406-2 (eBook)

The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:

Gray, Wesley R.

   
Embedded : a Marine Corps advisor inside the Iraqi army / Wesley R. Gray.

p. cm.

   
Includes bibliographical references and index.

   
1. Military assistance, American—Iraq. 2. Iraq—Armed Forces—Training of.

   
3. Internal security—Iraq. 4. Iraq War, 2003—Personal narratives, American.

   
5. Gray, Wesley R. 6. United States. Marine Corps—Officers—Biography. 7.

   
United States. Marine Corps—Iraq. I. Title.

   
DS79.769.G73 2009

   
956.7044'34—dc22

   
[B]

2008055201

Print editions meet the requirements of ANSI/NISO z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper).

14  13  12  11  10  09         9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2

First printing

All photos are from the author's personal collection
.

To the soldiers of the Iraqi army,

who taught me that winning isn't everything,

but friends, family, and honor are.

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

APPENDIX: U.S. Marine Corps Rank Structure

GLOSSARY

INDEX

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Maj. Tom Ross once mentioned to me that his success as a Marine officer could be visualized as a turtle sitting on top of a fencepost—it was obvious he didn't get there alone. For this project, I felt like a blue whale sitting atop Mount Everest—without massive amounts of help, I would still be stuck on the bottom of the ocean.

First, I would like to thank the United States Marine Corps for giving me an opportunity to serve with an elite group of warrior citizens who are second to none. Specifically, I want to thank my advising teammates, who taught me about life, leadership, and how to be a better Marine (in no particular order): Doc, Nuts, V, Slip, Legger, Cpl. Sal, Mac, Moto McCoy, Wonder Twin #2, the Boss, D, Superhero, and Mighty Morgan—oohrah! And thanks to Eric Earnhardt for teaching me how to be a motivated Devil Dog.

The folks at the Graduate School of Business at the University of Chicago went beyond the call of duty in supporting me during my “sabbatical,” for which I am extremely grateful. Thank you also to the many friends and family, too numerous to list here, who supported me during my deployment. My biggest fans were (and always have been) my parents, Bill and Jill Gray. Thanks for the unwavering support.

Many friends and family also gave me insightful feedback and razor-sharp editing on early drafts of this book. Mike Beimer, Mike Bennett, Cliff Gray, Mike Hollander, Anne and Craig Jorgensen, Ben Katz, Andy Kern, Gabe Klehr, Sandy Li, Ronica Licciardello, James McGinnis, Maurice Medland, Scott Miller, and Dave Woodworth were all extremely helpful. Of course, Rick Russell and Elizabeth Bauman of the Naval Institute Press have been with me through every step in the publishing process and have really made me feel at home as an author with their organization. Special thanks to Karin Kaufman for her superb copyediting services.

Finally, my sincerest thanks go to my wife, Katie, my lead editor and best friend for life.

Part 1

BECOMING AN EMBEDDED MILITARY ADVISER

Chapter 1

Guess What? You Are Going to Iraq

February–March 2006

“G
ray, nice fuckin' brief. You wanna volunteer for some time in Iraq and train some Iraqis?” Caught off guard after completing an important intelligence brief to Brig. Gen. Mastin Robeson and a room full of Marine and Japanese military officers, I replied out of instinct, “Sir, hell yeah. When would I leave?” The granite-hard Col. Steven Manning, a legend in the Marine Corps intelligence community, peered into my eyes. “July time frame,” he said. “We'll talk about it later this evening. Oohrah!”

We never did get a chance to talk about it that evening. Over the next few weeks that February, I participated in the bilateral Japanese and U.S. military Yama Sukura war game in Kumamoto, Japan. At the conclusion of the exercise, Colonel Manning directed me to participate in a joint military operation with the Filipino army in the Philippines until mid-March. After spending almost two months traveling around Asia, Iraq was the last thing on my mind. But this all changed when I returned to my home base in Okinawa, Japan.

On March 14 I strolled into the intelligence offices at the 3rd Marine Division Headquarters at Camp Courtney, a small Marine Corps base in the center of the island of Okinawa. I had had the time of my life in the Philippines participating in real-world operations, working with the Filipino army, and meeting new people. Life was good. I hollered to Lt. Nate Krissoff, who came stumbling into the office. “Krissoff, dude, I can't believe those chicks you got in the Philippines. You are da man!” Krissoff, my best bud in the Marines, had partied too much while in the Philippines
and was still feeling the aftereffects. He smirked and said, “Gray, hey brother, what happened in the Philippines . . . stays in the Philippines!” I laughed. “Nate, my lips are sealed—until I need something from you.”

I sat at my computer and opened my e-mail box. I had 150 unanswered e-mails, only one of which seemed interesting. The subject line was “RE: MiTT members from Okinawa coming in on March 19th.” I opened the e-mail out of curiosity, thinking it must have been addressed to the wrong Second Lieutenant Gray. But it was addressed correctly and would change my life.