There are few Soldiers still serving in the Army who can say they deployed to Baghdad during the initial 2003 invasion of Iraq. There are even fewer who can say they administered an IV to a bear while there. There is one such person – Lt. Col. Christopher Lynge.

Lynge is transferring to the 352nd Civil Affairs Command for an upcoming deployment and is bringing with him years of extraordinary experience.

As a civilian, Lynge was a respected firefighter with the Prince George’s County, Maryland, Fire Department. In the Army, he has done everything from military police, preventative medicine, environmental science, and yes, treating animals in Baghdad.

Lynge also shares a special connection with the Army Reserve Center the 352nd CACOM calls home.

“Who is this facility named after?” Lynge asked with a large smile. “Captain John Smathers. I worked with him!”

The two Civil Affairs Soldiers served together in Iraq when Lynge deployed with the 354th Civil Affairs Brigade in 2003. They became friends and shared their affinity for animals.

Lynge gestured towards a large photo of Smathers and his pet dog hanging outside the 352nd CACOM’s headquarters.

“Smathers was instrumental in getting dogs removed from Iraq and getting them back to the U.S. to be adopted,” he said.

After Smathers passed away on February 4, 2006, the new Army Reserve facility was named in honor of his service. Smathers received two Purple Heart medals, and four Bronze Star medals while serving as a judge advocate officer for the 352nd CACOM in Iraq. Lynge added Smathers was responsible for helping reestablish the traffic court system in Baghdad.

Lynge explained his civil affairs mission while deployed was public health and this led him to interact with diverse facets of local Iraqi infrastructure – visiting hospitals, veterinarian universities, coordinating with the Red Crescent, and inspecting water bottling facilities. The difficulties of repairing a war-torn city were enormous and often revealed unique cultural challenges for Lynge and the civil affairs Soldiers there.

Among the first hurdles faced by Lynge and his team were the religious feuds occurring at local humanitarian organizations.

Lynge gave one example where hospitals that had been staffed by Sunni Muslims during the rule of Saddam Hussein abruptly changed personnel without warning. Having spent weeks building relations with the Sunni staff, Lynge visited a facility one day only to find the people he knew had vanished.

“All those people were gone,” said Lynge. “They just disappeared because the Shia had taken over.”

Lynge said part of his mission also involved working with local veterinarians, which led to some unusual circumstances in Baghdad.

It was at the Baghdad Zoo that Lynge encountered a local veterinarian who was struggling to administer an IV to a bear. When she asked for help, Lynge was able to use his knowledge as a former combat medic specialist to assist.

“Mammals are all the same, you can start an IV on a dog, or a cat, or bear, because the same blood vessels are still there,” Lynge laughed.

But Lynge’s skills also extended to the tactical realm thanks to his prior background in military law enforcement.

“He did a lot of the grunt work: planning routes, getting teams together, tactical officer work,” said Robert Grimley, a former intelligence analyst officer who served alongside Lynge in Baghdad. “He had that experience.”

“I would always run the convoys out,” Lynge said. “We would have to do the missions no matter how dangerous it got, whatever the threat situation, we just had to do it.”

“I got shot at so many times I stopped counting.”

Having spent nine years as military police, Lynge was able to use his expertise to keep himself and his troops alive despite the intense combat.

Grimley recalled when both men were convoying to a small village on the outskirts of Baghdad. When their forces arrived, Lynge noticed the usual crowd of children that would run to greet them were not present. The scene was eerily quiet.

“I’ll never forget Lynge saying, ‘turn around,’” explained Grimley. “He said it was just too odd there were no kids.”

“You just never know sometimes, and it takes people like Lynge to sense those things are wrong.”

After his deployment, Lynge transitioned from active duty to the Army Reserve’s 76th Operational Readiness Command’s Consequence Management Unit.

“The consequence management unit is what we do in response to Weapons of Mass Destruction,” Lynge said. “If a 10-kiloton nuke goes off in the United States, we’re there in three days saying, ‘This is how we can help you.’”

In addition to his diverse military skill set, he also possesses a substantial background in public safety as a civilian. As of Feb. 1, 2024, Lynge retired from his job as a firefighter.

“I was a firefighter lieutenant, paramedic, hazmat officer, rescue tech, bomb technician officer, and fire marshal,” Lynge laughed. “The only thing I didn’t do was be a boat captain or K-9!”

With all his experience, Lynge said he picked up a few things along the way.

“Civil Affairs taught me you should value the person for who they are, and not just their rank or position,” said Lynge. “It doesn’t matter what rank you are; you’re paid to think.”

“It just really comes down to the individual: their work ethic and whatever their skill set is,” he added.

With his years of service and retiring from the fire department, Lynge said one of the reasons he still serves in the Army Reserve despite being able to retire is to provide a positive example for the younger generation of Americans.

“I’m a scoutmaster for about 122 boys and 55 girls – it’s the largest troop in Howard County,” said Lynge. “By wearing this uniform, we represent a lot of the good things.”

“It’s probably 60 percent of why I’m still in the military – being a role model to youth.”