Here’s the lastest story from Paul McKellips, US Department of State, Public Affairs GO Team on assignment in Iraq. In this one he talks with Lieutenant Colonel Chris Johnson who works as one of the deputies to the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Diyala province.

I met Chris at 2:30 in the morning in the middle of a pitch-black airfield. A Chinook helicopter crew woke me up and said, “Out.” I walked down a ramp and out onto a cement pad surrounded by sand. The two Chinooks took off. The horizon was completely dark in all directions. I knew I was in the middle of the hornet’s nest, a bad part of Iraq to be in. I was only miles from where terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in a June airstrike. I assumed I was close to a base but I couldn’t see it. Suddenly a hand grabbed my shoulder from behind. It was Johnson. He could’ve sent any number of junior soldiers to stay up late and pick me up. But that’s not his style. Johnson takes pride in everything he does. Later that morning, as we were driving in an eight Humvee convoy to the Baqubah Dates Festival, he sat front right looking for IEDs while passionately talking about the progress Iraqi farmers are making. Listen to report here: Iraq Farming Report (1 min MP3)