Battleground

IRAQ

Journal of a Company Commander

by Todd S. Brown

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
WASHINGTON, D.C., 2007

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Brown, Todd S. (Todd Sloan), 1974—
Battleground Iraq : journal of a company commander / by Todd S. Brown.
p. cm.
Includes index.
1. Brown, Todd S. (Todd Sloan), 1974- 2. Iraq War, 2003-Personal
narratives, American. 3. United States. Army. Infantry Division
(Mechanized), 4th. I.Title.
DS79.76.B774 2007
956.7044'342092-dc22
[B]2007018112

First Printing—CMH Pub no. 70-107-1

...To the Soldiers of Bravo Company, 1-8 Infantry, and the Family and Friends Who Support Them

FOREWORD

The Army's 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized) spent a long and demanding year of successful combat operation in Iraq. As its commander, I daily witnessed the phenomenal courage, competence, compassion, and sacrifice of our soldiers. We experienced high points such as the capture of Saddam Hussein but also endured the rigors of extended operations against dogged opponent in a complex and often hostile environment. Soldiers en route to such a theater should be not only properly trained and equipped but also psychologically prepared.

Capt. Robert ("Todd") Sloan Brown was among the best of our company commanders. He and the soldiers he led performed magnificently in some of the division's toughest and most critical operations. Indeed, some of the materials he wrote or briefed received wide currency within the division when preparing others to follow him into rough neighborhoods. I believe his journal can serve a similar purpose for those on their way to Iraq—or someplace like it. His narrative is not thoroughly analytical nor is it always fair; but it is gripping. It provides useful discussion of tactics, techniques, and procedures as they evolved in Iraq. It also touches on the conflict between combat operations and nation building. More important, it captures the stresses of combat and corresponding emotions as they accumulate over time in a combat outfit. Understanding these could prove invaluable to those who courageously serve our nation and will continue to endure them in th long war. However, this work should also be taken in context. The timeframe was 2003 to early 2004—tactics and the environment have changed over time.

The U.S. Army Center of Military History has provided helpful prefacing and contextual materials to sustain the perspective of the reader. Appendixes reproduce materials Captain Brown authored in Iraq to assist his comrades and provide insight into the command and control process at Brown's level. Taken together, this collection should prove constructive and useful to deploying soldiers and remarkable to those who appreciate what our soldiers do to protect our way of life.

THE AUTHOR

Maj. Todd Brown commanded an infantry company in the 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized) during Operation Iraqi Freedom and has served with the 1-508 Airborne Battalion Combat Team in Italy and 2-75 Rangers at Fort Lewis Washington. Brown is a 1996 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, where he served as First Captain—the highest rankin cadet. He is currently assigned as an associate professor at the U.S. Military Academy and has an MBA from Stanford University. He is married, an avid Ironman Triathlete, and an Eagle Scout.

PREFACE

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 leve 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 a 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. Thanks go to the Center of Military History. Jeff Clarke pushed this project along and read the manuscript in the early days. In particular, I must thank Diane Donovan, my editor, who taught me that communication without expletives was in fact possible. I will miss seeing her e-mails in the mornings with their words of encouragement. Thanks also go to John Shortal, Richard Stewart, Keith Tidman, Beth MacKenzie, S. L. Dowdy, Michael R. Gill, Diane Arms, Dale Andrade, and Bill Epley for all their hard work in making this manuscript into a book.

CONTENTS

APPENDIXES