In the second episode in a two-part series, Misty Cantwell recounts the ongoing combat operations she conducted in Sadr City, Iraq, in 2003. A military police platoon leader, her sense of the political fragility of the nation was brought home after two bombings targeting the Baghdad headquarters of the United Nations assistance mission occurred. Cantwell reflects on the vagueness of American counterinsurgency efforts in and around Baghdad as 2003 turned into 2004. Assigned to help rebuild the Iraqi police, she faced gender bias and outright hostility despite her competency and professionalism. Faced with an ever-learning enemy, Cantwell’s soldiers had to adapt and learn with her as they walked the beat in Baghdad.
This episode features a conversation with Ryan Hendrickson. After almost losing his leg in an IED blast in 2010, he was back in Afghanistan...
In this episode Maj. John A. Meyer shares a story from his first deployment, in 2007, to Afghanistan. On July 27, his platoon and...
Sergeant Major Chuck Ritter overcame a series of bad decisions in his youth—as well as a rough start to his Army career—to become a...