When Capt. Chris Clark, a student in the Owen Graduate School of Management, flew over Iraq in March 2003 as a marine aviator, the task was, as he put it, "straightforward."

Four years later, he explained, the initial bombs he and his fellow Marines dropped to clear the way for ground troops headed to Baghdad seem far away from the reality facing troops today.

Arriving in the Middle East in January 2003, Clark's mission was to bomb artillery pieces and other ground threats. Traveling from a base in Kuwait into Iraqi airspace, Clark said the mission seemed routine.

"Our primary communications were by radio with ground troops," Clark said. "The forces moved rapidly into Baghdad."

Well-trained in compartmentalization of fear and emotion, even the danger did not consciously register for Clark.

"I remember I flew at night and in the area (my co-pilot and me) were going into, they had antiaircraft weapons," said Clark. "It looked like the Fourth of July on steroids."

As with most missions, "focus and calm" took over, he said. "I asked Rudy, my co-pilot, ‘Do you see it?' All he said was, ‘Yeah, I see it.'"

Though Clark no longer serves as a Marine aviator, he remains close to the situation in Iraq through friends currently stationed there.

The mission is now more than four years old, and in his eyes, it is more complex.

"I think it is impossible to foresee how long it will take to conduct missions," Clark said. "When we were flying into Iraq, the mission seemed clear."

According to Clark, ground troops presently have less defined goals, many of which revolve around socially and culturally penetrating Iraqi communities.

"We are developing relationships with Iraqis," he said. "It takes a long time to win the hearts and minds of a culture that is so different than ours, so true cultural understanding and these one-on-one relationships improve our chances for success."

The troops' need for cultural immersion has consequently influenced training, he said.

"There is a renewed focus on cultural skills and the ability to fight on all fronts," as part of the battle becomes the formation of friendships, Clark said.

"I think people realize that our troops are tired, but they are more motivated than ever by the relationships they've developed," he said, adding that many return for second and even third tours. "If they spend months building schools or digging a well, they want to see how things are going. They want to go back to see their buddies."

Clark said he fears this aspect of the war is underreported.

"On the human level, the forces on the ground are winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi populace, something that is hard to publicize in today's media coverage. It doesn't sell," he said.

For Iraqi civilians the relationships developed with American troops provide huge motivation for them to fight against Iraqi troops, Clark said.

"The Iraqis, too, are taking a great risk by working with us," he said. "They are endangering their families. When insurgents see them working with U.S. forces they (become) the targets."

Nevertheless, Clark admitted that the war takes a very real emotional toll on the troops.

"Even though realistic training will enhance the skill set, the emotional aspect on the ground can never be completely removed," Clark said.

Though tasks are very methodical for an aviator, he explained, ground troops face more problems because situations are more confrontational.

"It is harder to contain emotions when the enemy is 50 feet away," he said.

Understanding the complexity of the situation can be difficult, Clark said. For him, however, a slogan popularized by Commanding Gen. of the United States Marine Corps James Mattis holds true in regards to American-Iraqi relations - America will be "no better friend, but no worse enemy" to the Iraqi people.

To Clark, this statement means relations depend entirely on how the Iraqi people choose to engage the American troops - by either embracing them or working against them.

View a soundslide of Clark's photos from Iraq.