For the rest of you, BG Boozer is the Deputy Commanding General for the Multi-National Division-North. Jim is also a personal friend. We were Lieutenants together, a long time ago.

And while I don't think *he* recognized it, the rest of us knew he was going to wear stars one day. So, I'm not going to pretend to be unbiased about this guy.

The assembled bloggers and one Fox newsie asked a raft of good questions, and they'll be the subject of a later post, after I have a chance to look over my notes.

BG Boozer is general officer with command responsibilities, but he's a stand up guy and never been a cheer-leader except when it comes to his troops, so I take his upbeat assessment as worthy of note.

And he has perspective on Iraq. As a Colonel, BG Boozer commanded the 214th FA Brigade in support of the 3ID in the March Upcountry. He was Chief of Plans for J3 at CENTCOM supporting OIF and OEF. So he's got a baseline for his eagerly expressed optimism.

Aside from the obvious pride BG Boozer has in his soldiers, he also has pride in the growth in capability and responsibility of the Iraqi Security Forces in the MND-N AO, and spoke very optimistically about the sustained growth in the support from the general population, especially in the Sunni areas, where they are helping the ISF and MND-N tighten the screws of AQI, al-Qaeda in Iraq in the Kirkuk and Mosul areas. He believes that in combination with the Iranians actions on their side of the border, that the flow of arms into the north has slowed to a trickle. I don't think anyone asked if he included the Kurds and their mischief in that equation.

BG Boozer believes, quote, "We're at a tipping point" and "We're gonna make history in the next year" in terms of continuing the upswing of Iraqis stepping up and making Iraq work, which will enable us to start, and continue, standing down.

Enough so that he believes the security situation can be sustained by the ISF in the MND-N region and we can safely re-deploy the 1st CAV brigade combat team that has been there 15 months and allow the Stryker BCT from the Second Infantry Division expand to take over the region currently covered by the 1st Cav without a loss in effectiveness.

And Jim has a lot at stake personally, not just professionally. His son, Jim Boozer, Jr, is in Iraq right now. In fact BG Boozer gets to promote his son to Sergeant on 1 December. That prompted a question to BG Boozer - "What advice did you give your son when he arrived in Iraq?"

After a little fatherly moment caused I'm sure by a little tightness in the throat, Jim said his advice to his son was...

"Stay true to yourself. The work you are doing in Iraq will be the most rewarding work you've ever done, and WRITE YOUR MOMMA!"

Word.

Stay safe, Jim. And like I said on the call - if you need a Command Blogger, I'm available. And fix your bio, dude. We weren't in Bamberg, if was Zirndorf! That was Tommy Franks in Bamberg when we all worked for Dubia and Shalikashvili. [There, was that enough name-dropping?]