Veteran Whitley Carder describes the missions he had during his deployment in Iraq and recounts what his life was like under the working conditions of war. He discusses the disappointment of finding out more troops were being sent to Iraq, increasing the length of his deployment, and remembers the specifies of the missions he was a part of. On December 18, 2011 the majority of US troops left Iraq, with the rest leaving by the end of the month. The Iraq War officially ended on December 15, 2011.