Battleground Iraq: Journal of a Company Commander

This book originated in the small green notepads ubiquitous among U.S. Army soldiers. As time wore on in Iraq, computers and printers became more accessible and I transferred my thoughts onto an external jump drive. When I had printer access, I would print these thoughts as portions of letters to my wife and parents, in part answering the inevitable question: What are you doing now? I thought the more thorough the descriptions I sent home, the more robust the care packages of Cajun-flavor beef jerky, Gatorade, and Gold Bond powder I would receive. My father, ever the careful historian and on the Army Staff at the time, organized these letters and tied them to the headline news and the Pentagon’s contemporary appreciation of events. My wife, mother, and Aunts Margy and Nancy sent me more than my body weight in beef jerky, Gatorade mix, and other delectables. The idea of transferring these letters and thoughts into a book proved almost as daunting a task as fighting insurgents. I received a lot of encouragement to publish, but the one thing that always stuck with me was the idea that writing a book may help someone deploying to combat. It became my goal—in my own mind, my duty—to write an honest account of my experiences, thoughts, and feelings to help deploying combat leaders. As I reread this book with the luxury of hindsight, I am always amazed at some of the tactical mistakes we made. I often debated taking out sections of the book so as to not look foolish, “cherry,” or “junior varsity.” Each time, wise counsel reminded me that descriptions of evolutionary tactics are far more instructive than revisionist history … we learn so much more from our mistakes. I learned an incredible amount tactically, emotionally, and psychologically during my time in Iraq. I consider the level of combat and danger I personally faced there as pretty standard for an infantryman in the Sunni Triangle. This book is not a collection of one hair-raising RPG ambush after the next, though they exist. Instead, it reflects the boredom, camaraderie, and moments of terror I experienced throughout my tour. It also discusses many of the leadership challenges, frustrations, and personal squabbles that affect units. I always strove to lead an organization that could rapidly adjust to the changing threat; hopefully, this book conveys the lessons we learned. The views expressed are my own and not those of the U.S. government, Department of Defense, or U.S. Army. This book is the product of so many people’s hard work and sacrifice that I feel guilty putting my name on the cover. The first person I have to thank is my wife Kris, who has sustained me through eight years of marriage and countless deployments. I can never thank her enough for her love, care, support, and understanding while both living and writing this book. Our Army asks so much of our loved ones—they are the true patriots. Special thanks to my mother and father: their love, leadership, and sacrifices are awe inspiring. They are my heroes. Thanks go to Oscar and Meyer, amiable Dachshunds who provided great late-night-writing companionship—although their grammatical contributions were dubious at best. Thanks go to the platoon sergeants and commanders I have had through the years; I carry invaluable leadership lessons from each of them. To the Byers, Faunce, Panchot, and Paliwoda families, thank you for raising and nurturing such wonderful sons; I am a better man for having known each of them.