HOUSTON – Soldiers dressed in khaki fatigues, strapped with body armor, carrying a rifle close to the chest is the image often portrayed of Iraq. What few realize is the number of FBI agents there, too.

The man who opened the FBI's first Baghdad office in 2005, Andrew Bland, III, is the new Special Agent in Charge of Houston's office.

"Given the FBI's top priority of protecting the homeland of future terrorist attack,” Bland told 11News, “It is absolutely necessary we have an office in Iraq."

Bland spent 19 months in Baghdad. His agents, alongside coalition forces, interviewed suspected terrorists, searched for kidnapping victims, and trained Iraqi police with new investigating techniques, among other things.

His comfortable second floor office at the Houston FBI office is different terrain but is in a city which faces similar threats.

"We can not afford to have a bad day,” Bland said, “We have to be on top of our game every single day. Given the magnitude of that responsibility we need all of the assistance, all of the help and certainly all the prayers we can get."

Within his first three days in Houston, Bland and 20 agents in Houston, Bland and 20 FBI agents met with the region's major businesses; utilities, refineries, and to share concerns and vulnerabilities regarding terrorism. It's the kind of two way communication Bland believes is needed to stay safe.

What can he bring to Houston?

"I have a true understanding of what it means when a society is faced with an unseen and ill-defined presence and the cataclysmic horrific events that can happen as a result of there being a person or persons who don't like us very much,” Bland said recalling his time in Baghdad. “Armed with that knowledge, armed with perspective, I look forward to joining with the men and women of the Houston office of the FBI to know every area of weakness in our area.

“They've done some wonderful work prior to my arrival,” Bland continued about his new assignment. “Perhaps the thing I can bring to the equation [is] leadership, engagement, knowing exactly what's happening in the office and knowing how to best maximize upon the wonderful skills we have in the Houston FBI office.

As Special Agent in Charge, Bland is disarming and approachable.

Traits he hopes the public takes advantage of.