Eyewitness to War Volumes I And II Combined - The US Army in Operation AL FAJR: An Oral History

by U.S. Army Combat Studies Institute

ForewordEyewitness to War The US Army in Operation AL An Oral History isa unique publication for the Combat Studies Institute. It is our fi rst publication tomake exclusive use of oral history. This study is a derivative of the CSI OperationalLeadership Experiences (OLE) project, a program that collects and archivesfi rst-person experiences from the Global War on Terror. It can also be considereda companion to the recently published CSI Occasional Paper #20: Operation A Study in Army and Marine Corps Joint Operations. Interviews collectedfor the OLE project formed the basis for that occasional paper and were so compelling,we felt a need to publish those interviews in a book series.In November 2004, the second battle for Fallujah was a brutal and bloody fi ghtso characteristic of urban terrain. Under the overall command of the 1st Marine Division,four Marine infantry and two US Army battalions (Task Forces 2-2 Infantryand 2-7 Cavalry) were committed to the streets of Fallujah. At this same time, theArmy’s 2d Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division formed a cordon to hold and isolate theinsurgents in the city. Using the fi repower and mobility of the Army’s heavy armorand mechanized units to full effect, the Marine Regimental Combat Teams weresuccessful in destroying the enemy and securing Fallujah in ten days.Eyewitness to War interviews span a wide spectrum of participants, fromcommanders and senior non-commissioned offi cers at all levels to the fi rst-handaccounts of combat and combat service support personnel on the battlefi eld. Wemake no claim that this history is a comprehensive work, as these 37 people arebut a fraction of the thousands who took part in the operation. This is primarily anArmy oral history, though one of the Marine Regimental Commanders agreed toprovide his story. The USMC bore the brunt of fi ghting in Fallujah and this studydoes not attempt to overlook their tremendous accomplishments.The individuals featured in this work volunteered to work with our staff overmany months. Their stories are a tremendous testimony to the skill, fl exibility, andbravery of the US Army today.This collection of personal experiences is the raw material history is made of.It is a riveting and useful way to study the past. And it is our hope that the insightsderived from their roles in the second battle for Fallujah will better prepare the USArmy for tomorrow’s endeavors. CSI – The Past is Prologue!Timothy R. ReeseColonel, ArmorDirector, Combat Studies Institute

Kindle Edition

Published June 3, 2015