New AAC Chief of Staff shares experiences from Iraq

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Bryan Franks
  • Team Eglin Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  After more than 500 days in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Col. Lawrence Avery arrived here as the new Air Armament Center Chief of Staff in July.

His longer than average Air Force deployment, began as a year-long deployment to Iraq as the Chief of Iraqi Air Force Programs in the Security Assistance Office in Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq.

While that's a pretty big title the short version of his job was to provide assistance to the Iraqi Air Force in acquiring the necessary equipment and training to rebuild their force. Soon MNSTC-I leadership decided he should take on a larger role in the acquisition process as the Deputy for Security Assistance for all Iraqi Police, Army, Air Force, and Navy programs.

"Nine months into my deployment we had made great headway in rebuilding the Iraqi Security Forces for counter-insurgency operations, basically light infantry type forces, and the Iraqis became interested in starting to build strategic defense forces to protect their sovereignty," said Colonel Avery, who received the Bronze Star for his efforts during the deployment.

But because they still had a long away to go, Colonel Avery's commanding general thought it would be best for the major force modernization programs to keep the colonel six more months in Iraq, because of the relationships he created with Iraqi senior leadership.

"Anyone who has worked with the Iraqis, or any other Arab nation, understands the importance of relationships," said the father of three. "The Iraqi people are very friendly, personally gracious and generous. They value religion, family, tribe and friendships ... in about that order."

According to Colonel Avery working with the Iraqis was "simultaneously rewarding and frustrating."

"Watching the Iraqi security forces grow in both capability and confidence and seeing the graduation of new recruits ready to fight the insurgents to achieve a secure environment were some of the more memorable moments," said the 28-year veteran.

One of the more challenging issues was getting the Iraqis to trust the military acquisition system Colonel Avery was overseeing.

According to the Colonel, Americans like to see results and Iraqis are more concerned with how they get the results.

"For Iraqis the process that leads to a particular decision can be even more important than the decision or the results," he said. "There are no short-cuts (with the Iraqis) to a decision and trying to take shortcuts can derail and delay the process even longer."

While Colonel Avery was there during a period of great growth in the Iraqi acquisition program, he still didn't get to see all of his team's hard work take effect.

"It would be nice to see the programs come to fruition -- but I'll be content to watch it from 7,000 miles away," he said.

Beyond his work with the Iraqis, the colonel's first deployment offered a common Air Force deployment experience - the joint environment.

According to the colonel observing the cultures of each of the services was enlightening.

"We are all so unique in how we recruit, train and retain personnel and how we operate," said the former EC-135 mission crew commander.

The unit he worked for was predominately Army-led and which meant an Army culture.

"The Army has what I call the "Hooah and Do It" approach - not much discussion, no whining - just get it done," said the Panama City, Fla. native. "The Army environment is probably like the old school Air Force I hear about from my Dad, what he describes is a more "rough and tumble" environment."

In his position, he was responsible for leading and supervising officers and NCOs of all services, which entailed learning and understanding the different evaluation systems to include the software and words used to convey the right messages for various promotion boards.

"We have to take care of our folks," he said. "While it was challenging to make sure each Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine, and civilian I served with were taken care of in accordance with their service's guidelines, I did my best to ensure their record of performance in Iraq was duly reflected in their permanent record."

Avery said that he is forever changed by some of his experiences in Iraq and mostly what he learned about himself.

"I have a greater appreciation for the challenges being faced by our deployed warriors and will keep the thought of supporting them in the forefront of my decision-making process here at Eglin," said Colonel Avery, who served six years with the 46th Test Wing in the nineties. "I also think some of my experiences with the various services in the deployed environment and learning their service cultures, comparable to our Air Force culture could come in handy as we work together to share Eglin resources so we can all accomplish our missions."