The Weekly Standard has a great article about my former commanding general in the 4th Infantry Division, Lt. Gen Raymond Odierno.

As is well known, General Petraeus oversaw the writing of a new counterinsurgency doctrine before being sent to Iraq. But the doctrine did not provide a great deal of detail about how to plan and conduct such operations across a theater as large as Iraq. It was Odierno who creatively adapted sophisticated concepts from conventional fighting to the problems in Iraq, filling gaps in the counterinsurgency doctrine and making the overall effort successful.

I met Gen. Odierno several times, the most memorable being on Christmas in Tikrit, Iraq. His command center was at Saddam’s old palace compound in the heart of Tikrit, and we were on the outskirts of the city at an airfield that was completely abandoned until we rolled into it on the middle of cold late October night. By December 25, we’d built the little airfield into a decent base, complete with blast protection from concrete barrier walls and hot (bland) food from the Halliburton kitchens (also at the Hussein compound) that was delivered three times a day.

Christmas day was our first “day off” since I’d arrived in Iraq, and they had a truly outstanding feast laid out for us. I’d completely forgotten what real food tasted like at this point. They had lobster, steak, jalapeno sausages, corn on the cob — it truly was the most delicious meal I can remember eating, mostly because I’d spent months eating MRE’s and drinking nothing but water. As I waited in line to get my food, this giant of a man starts walking up the line, shaking the hands of my fellow battle buddies and wishing them a Merry Christmas. I had no idea who the guy was until I noticed the two stars on his kevlar helmet.

I suddenly became very, very nervous.

He made his way to me. I think I nailed the salute, but my fuzzy memory won’t let me be sure of that. There’s a very good chance I fumbled my way through it, as this was my first time meeting any officer above the Colonel level, and I was terrified. Typically I’d never be terrified of meeting anyone, but this was one of those things that’s drilled into you in Basic — to respect and generally be terrified of anyone ranked higher than you, especially officers. At this point, Lieutenants still scared the bejesus out of me, so a two star General almost made me pass out.

Regardless of whether my salute was obnoxious or perfectly executed, General Odierno still shook my hand.

General Odierno earned the respect of the thousands of soldiers under his command, which is more than I can say for some of the officers we worked for. That Christmas Day, he created a lasting memory and helped us enjoy a little peace and normalcy in the midst of some crazy, crazy times. To hear that he’s being considered as a replacement for General David Petraeus as the top commander in Iraq makes me happy, and it also makes me miss my Army days a little bit.

Not a lot, though. A little.

(I have nearly 1,000 pictures from my time in Iraq in this Flickr photoset if you’re interested in browsing them.)