Battleground Iraq: Journal of a Company Commander

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.