My Decision to Serve
In March 2008, I experienced the worst night of my life. I was downrange in Iraq, serving as the squadron judge advocate—the lawyer—for the Second Squadron, Third Armored Cavalry Regiment. It was the height of the surge, and my unit had been deployed to one of the most violent regions of the country.
Nights were always tense. Because most of our combat operations were at night, that’s when we engaged the enemy. That’s when we took casualties. And that evening, a young soldier burst into my tiny office in Forward Operating Base Caldwell, a small base in eastern Diyala Province. “Captain French,” he said, “you’re needed in the TOC. Now.”
In Army language, the TOC is the tactical operations center, the “brain” of an Army unit at war. That’s where an officer called a battle captain helps manage and direct the fight, like a conductor leading a deadly symphony.
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