Major Kirk Luedeke
I’ve looked forward to this moment for a long time- the final Dragon Soup entry written while deployed to Iraq. I’ve enjoyed sending the occasional word from Baghdad, but after 14 months here, it is time for the Soldiers of Task Force Dragon to return home to Fort Riley, Kansas.
I decided to take a moment to post a summary of what our brigade accomplished as the second “surge” brigade. This by no means covers all of it, and I know that I’m probably leaving out some key contributions and events somewhere along the way.
So, read on and I ask you to think about the fact that we are just one of 10 brigades in Baghdad alone who contributed to Iraq’s stability and security during the surge. There are thousands of Soldiers just like ours who went out into the streets and neighborhoods and made a lasting contribution to the populace.
Operational Summary.
The Soldiers of the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division performed with extraordinary heroism and gallantry and distinguished themselves while defeating Anti-Coalition Forces and providing security to the citizens of Baghdad. Initially tasked to reduce the rampant sectarian violence by fifty percent, the Dragon Brigade reduced instances of murder, direct and indirect fire and improvised explosive device attacks by a whopping ninety-two percent from early 2007 levels by the end of February 2008. Although enemy attacks spiked again in March as a result of increased activity by special groups criminals, the 155 total attacks which occurred for the month were still well below the total of 928 for May 07.
The Brigade destroyed 15 of twenty known insurgent cells operating in its operational environment. Its operations resulted in the capture of 1,739 members of Anti-Coalition Forces with 1,341 ACF members (77% of those captured) sent to long term confinement. It succeeded in dismantling the ACF leadership structure by detaining 181 Named Targets, with 69 of those being brigade and battalion High Value Individuals. The brigade captured 855 small arms and machine guns; 34 mortars w/ 1,541 rounds of ammunition; 58 rocket launchers and rail systems w/ 323 rounds of ammunition and 3,919 lbs of military and home made explosives. The hard won improvement in the security situation allowed the brigade to provide essential services, facilitate economic growth and allowed the reconciliation process to flourish.
The Brigade propelled this growth by completing 246 essential services projects worth $48.1 million. When the brigade left Iraq it was managing an additional 90 projects worth $55.5 and facilitating 123 planned projects valued at $55.7 million. To foster small businesses the brigade distributed 1,421 micro-grants valued at $3.9 million dollars to stimulate the local businesses. It grew the number of markets in its operational environment to 35 containing 4,627 shops. The capacity of the strategic Doura Market was increased from only 30 functioning shops to 651.
The Brigade led the way in the reconciliation process by establishing the foremost Sons of Iraq programs in Baghdad. By leveraging numerous contacts with key tribal sheikhs and local leaders the brigade recruited 8,574 Sons of Iraq and employed them with 53 contracts worth $9.8 million. The Sons of Iraq program contributed to reconciliation by employing military age males to provide security in local areas. These SoIs were groomed for eventual transition to the Iraqi Security Forces, in civic works programs or for vocational training. The brigade also facilitated the establishment of eight neighborhood reconciliation committees that signed six reconciliation agreements pledging bridge sectarian differences and to provide Iraqi solutions to Iraqi problems.
The 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team paid a steep price for its success in bringing security to the Iraqi people. Thirty-eight (38) Soldiers from organic 4th IBCT units lost their lives and 303 were wounded in action. Units fighting in Rashid under the brigade’s control suffered and additional 59 Soldiers killed in action and 499 wounded. These figures underscore the intensity of the violence and the difficulty of the fight to defeat Anti-Coalition Forces on a complex urban battlefield.
Throughout the fight, the Soldiers of the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team displayed an incredible esprit de corps. The Brigade led Multi-National Division Baghdad in reenlistment in both fiscal years 2007 and 1st and 2nd FY quarters 2008. The Dragon Soldiers displayed their commitment to their fight, to the brigade, to the Army and to the nation by remaining in the Army.
The Soldiers of the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team lived up to the brigade’s motto of “Bellate Impavide” or “Fight Fearlessly”. Soldiers of the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team were awarded the following (as of 08 APR 08):
• 2 x Bronze Star Medals for Valor
• 46 x Army Commendation Medals for Valor
• 301 x Purple Hearts
• 949 x Combat Infantry Badges
• 872 x Combat Action Badges
• 355 x Bronze Star Medals
• 79 x Meritorious Service Medals
• 2,929 x Army Commendation Medals
Five Journalists you should know
In our 14 months, we had more than 80 different embedded journalists and media outlets. We had good experiences with most, some bad and still more were just plain ugly. Rather than focus on the negative (maybe that will be the subject of a future book and I’ll name names) I thought I’d point you in the direction of 10 members of the media whom I feel are at the top of their profession and worthy of taking the time to read and/or watch, listen to or follow. There are far more than 10 good ones, but I wanted to narrow the field. Besides, my time here is growing short, so I’ll just go with the Cliff Notes version for now. You’re welcome to email me at kirkaluedeke (at) yahoo.com if you want to keep in touch.
NOTE: I do not include noted milblogger Michael Yon or any of his brothers and sisters of the blogosphere. This list is inclusive of those we deem “Mainstream Media” or MSM only. I figure you all are well acquainted with Mike’s outstanding and important work in covering the war in Iraq, and I feel that I would just be preaching to the choir. If you aren’t familiar with Yon, then by all means, head over to www.michaelyon-online.com and take a look.
1. Anne Garrels, NPR: We had Annie into Rashid on several occasions, and she is an absolute pro. For those of you unfamiliar with her work, she also wrote a book called Naked in Baghdad about her experiences as one of a very few western journalists who continued to cover events in Baghdad in March and April, 2003. Annie is old school- she does her homework and has a real understanding of the situation before she comes in to do a story. Better yet, she doesn’t come in with a set agenda and sticks to the facts, drawing her conclusions based on what she sees, not on what she heard from a source before even arriving. I can tell you from personally sitting in on interviews she did with Colonel Gibbs that she presented him in the exact context of which he provided his remarks. That’s something that I’ve discovered is not always the case when dealing with certain media types.
2. Mark Urban, BBC: Urban and his cameraman Mark McCauley came into our area and stayed at one of our first combat outposts in the heart of Doura back in April 07, when things were at some of their worst. He gave the unit, Alpha Company (Gator), 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment a fair shake and his 30-minute feature for News Night (BBC’s Nightline equivalent) is without a doubt the most realistic look at the platoon and squad level we saw of all the embeds who came through. He then followed up with another visit in late November/early December to track the progress and properly credited the unit with their remarkable victory over Al Qaeda-Iraq (AQI) in Doura and the improvements in the area. Mark and Mark were extremely easy to work with, but what’s more, they reported free of bias and without some of the sensationalism we saw in the reports of some of our U.S.-based news networks.
3. Tom Vandenbrook, USA Today: Vandenbrook and photographer Jack Gruber stayed with us for a week while covering the newly-fielded Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles. Tom and Jack arrived with an open mind, asking probing questions, but ones designed to get at the facts, not setting up the Soldiers for an emotional or baited response. These two honestly brought out the best in the public affairs field, as both my NCOIC and I agreed that we both wanted to work even harder to get these guys what they needed because they were so professional and respectful. Added bonus: Jack Gruber’s wife hails from Derry, NH and is a Pinkerton grad. Gotta love that small world quotient when you’re in the middle of Baghdad and you’re swapping stories with a photojournalist about Derry, the mutual acquaintances we have and the fact that he was right there in Denver when Jonathan Papelbon closed out the Rockies to win the 2007 World Series.
4. Ralph Peters, New York Post: I can’t say enough about Ralph’s brilliance and astute analysis of the situation in Iraq. A former Military Intelligence officer, he knows his stuff, but won’t give a free pass just because you wear the uniform. He appears quite regularly on FOX News as a military analyst and he’s must-see TV for me. While I don’t agree with everything he says, I think he is the one who has his finger on the pulse of what we’re facing as a nation better than anyone. His many books are must-reading, especially his most recent publications, Beyond Baghdad, Never Quit the Fight and Wars of Blood and Faith. He reached out to us in a big way, and I am grateful that I have gotten to know him.
5. Alissa J. Rubin, New York Times: Alissa is a real pro, and one of the best reporters we had come into our area because of the intelligent, probing questions she asked. All of the senior officers who came in contact with her were extremely impressed with her knowledge and the way she was able to not only ask the right questions, but then was able to craft two of the most accurate pieces we saw over the entire 14 months. The article she did with Damien Cave on Sons of Iraq is to this day the definitive piece of journalism on the subject of reconciliation in Iraq. I have a genuine respect for her ability as a journalist and she’s also someone like Tom Vandenbrook and Anne Garrels who I really worked hard for, because she represents all that is good and important about the Fourth Estate.
Ok, so there you have it. This is by no means a comprehensive list. And, some of my choices may leave you scratching your heads. Ultimately though, we have to remember that it isn’t the media’s job to be cheerleaders. Many of them are doing an outstanding job and are complete professionals. While we’ve had our share of folks who have not cut the proverbial mustard, I feel that these five are worth following.
Chances are, if they’re reporting, you’re getting an accurate, unvarnished look at the ground truth.