The Augmentee: December 2008

Thursday, December 4, 2008

D-0: I am leaving Iraq

This is the last post from Iraq; I am so excited to leave this place and never come back to it.

Unfortunately, I will be stuck in Kuwait for about 6 days, but that is one step closer to home.

Can you dig it?

An Individual Augmentee is a United States military member assigned to a unit for the purpose of filling in for, or augmenting, members of that unit. Individual Augmentees or IAs are differentiated from existing members of that unit by the fact that they are assigned individually rather than as part of a traditional military organization (such as a brigade, battalion or company). Individual Augmentees can be used to fill shortages or can be used when an individual with specialized knowledge or skill sets is required. As a result, Individual Augmentees can include members from an entirely different branch of service. The system has been used extensively in the current Iraq War, though with some criticism. Currently, there are approximately 12,000 Navy and Air Force personnel filling Army jobs in the United States, Iraq, Afghanistan, Cuba and the Horn of Africa at any one time.^{[1] (Wikipedia)}