Flags, Kittens And Mudpuddles

In 2004, Wayne Williams served in Iraq as an embedded trainer with the 307th Battalion of the Iraqi National Guard. Over several months, Williams and a small group of American non-commissioned officers transformed an untrained and inexperienced battalion into a unit which was capable of executing offensive combat missions with a minimum amount of American supervision. Throughout his tour of duty, Williams corresponded regularly with friends and family by e-mail. His correspondence offers a firsthand view of both the daily life of a soldier in Iraq and what has become the United States' primary mission in Iraq: training the Iraqi Security Forces to defend their own country.