ISAF Joint Command- AUS

When I was in Afghanistan in 2014, i worked for an Australian one-star, Brigadier Marcus Thompson (this is his coin- he was the CJ35, I was the intel planner). His Deputy was COL Matthew Pearse. I enjoyed working for the Australians- they were professional and extremely hard working. We were primarily focused on the elections and had engagements weekly at the National Military Command Center (ANSF). After 3x tours in Iraq- Afghanistan was new to me- even though at that point the US had been there for 13 years. As part of the XVIII ABC G2, COL Gary Johnston was the ACE Chief and Deputy J2. Spent a lot of time with Sean O'Halloran and Warren Withrow. Memorable moments- getting up at 0430 for Crossfit and getting locked down in our barracks standing guard at the doors with our weapons as there was an insurgent on base that Apaches were trying to locate from the air. Other than traversing downtown Kabul once a week- spent a lot of time at my desk and in the gym.