On March 12, 2006, four 101st Airborne Division Soldiers of First Platoon, Bravo Company, 1-502nd

Black Hearts was about the 2005-2006 deployment of the 101st‘s second brigade‘s 1-502nd (First Strike) to Iraq. The book more specifically honed in on Bravo Company and their first platoon’s decent into complete madness throughout the deployment. The 1-502nd and its commander Lt Col Kunk, was tasked with the mission of getting control of and hold the land in-between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. Kunk was a particularly difficult man to get along with. He would explode and go on a tirade over just about anything, big or small. This caused serious problems at meetings when he only wanted things his way and would personally attack his commanders who he thought he could not trust. This area had been recently dubbed as the “Triangle of

The 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, a unit known as the Rakkasans, were conducting Operation Iron Triangle in 2006 in Iraq when soldiers killed eight unarmed Iraqi men. The US military severely reprimanded the Commander of the Rakkasans, COL Michael Steele, for the unethical command climate his leadership allowed to exist within the unit at that time. This unit will need a new commander that can set and maintain an effective, ethical command climate through his leadership. That new commander should resolve the issues that led to the reported war crime in order to establish a culture that perpetuates an ethical command climate.

Company Aytch, a memoir written by Sam Watkins, tells the personal tale of a lowly private fighting four long years in the American Civil War. Watkins was from Columbia, Tennessee, and was a part of Company H, 1st Tennessee Infantry. He recounts his military career in chronological order, from before the Battle of Shiloh in 1862 to the day the Confederacy surrendered at Nashville in 1865. Watkins is a humble writer, often reminds the reader that he is not aiming to provide a comprehensive account of the entire war, but rather a collection of personal stories. Military history books often recount the lives of generals and of great strategies, but this book insists that history should not exclude the common men who filled the ranks of the military.

Colonel (Col) Michael Steele’s resolute beliefs regarding how to prepare his unit for combat and his bravado demeanor commanded respect from other bemused military officers. While serving as Commanding Officer (CO), 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, Col Steele aggressively cultivated a command climate focused on three core principles: personal protection, precision, and lethality. Although these three core principles narrowly aligned with the Army's "Soldier's Creed", Col Steele’s principles did not reinforce the Army’s individual and organizational core values. 3rd Brigade’s disassociated ethical subculture fostered a toxic environment which compromised both subordinate commanders' and individual soldiers' moral standards to various extents. Col Steele’s vague guidance concerning proper ethical behavior during the execution of high stress Counter-Insurgency (COIN) missions resulted in subordinates failing to conduct kinetic operations in accordance with established Army ethical standards. The military establishment shall remember May 09, 2006 as the day the revered "Rakkasans" failed to personify the unit's motto of "Ne Desit Virtus," meaning "Let Valor Not Fail". For on this day, four soldiers assigned to Charlie Company, known to the “Rakkasans” as the "Kill Company", murdered eight unarmed Iraqi citizens during Operation Iron Triangle. These four soldiers failed to understand the nature and consequences of their iniquities as they could no longer distinguish

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the real world consequences of when Army leaders become complacent dealing with foreign national soldiers, and the day to day operations while in a combat theatre. To gather lessons learned from the example discussed in order to lower the probability of a reoccurrence among the force. Through the example demonstrate the need for Army leaders to constantly fight against complacency, and the extreme importance that leaders know their soldiers, and place their soldiers’ needs before their own. The scenario discussed was a real incident that took place in Iraq in 2009, at a Coalition Outpost (COP) approximately 30 kilometers south of Mosul, in a city called Hammam al-Alil.

In the aftermath of a comparatively minor misfortune, all parties concerned seem to be eager to direct the blame to someone or something else. It seems so easy to pin down one specific mistake that caused everything else to go wrong in an everyday situation. However, war is a vastly different story. War is ambiguous, an enormous and intangible event, and it cannot simply be blamed for the resulting deaths for which it is indirectly responsible. Tim O’Brien’s story, “In the Field,” illustrates whom the soldiers turn to with the massive burden of responsibility for a tragedy. The horrible circumstances of war transform all involved and tinge them with an absurd feeling of

Black Hearts tells the story of a few bad soldiers from 1st platoon, Bravo company of the 1-502nd Infantry Battalion of the 101st Airborne Division, that was plagued with toxic leadership and lack of control over soldiers. The book documents the events that led to the ultimate demise of the soldiers involved in the horrific incident that occurred on March 12, 2006. Four soldiers were arrested in the brutal murder of an Iraqi family, which was a result of the lack of leadership and structure these soldiers received. Black Hearts takes a deep look into what happened to this troubled platoon and what unfortunate events occurred during their deployment.

Reading this book I found it to be very intriguing. It is a story about men from the 101st Airborne Division’s legendary 502nd Infantry Regiment known as “the Black Heart Brigade. These men were deployed to the country’s worst and most unfavorable location at the most dangerous time. The platoon the book talks about the most would be the Bravo Company First Platoon. They were constantly in a rough patch throughout the entire book, facing constant leadership changed and trying to survive the Triangle of Death. Being in this hostile environment caused many of the soldiers to lose discipline and not even care about life or death for their own sake. Their mentalities were at an all-time low, causing them to do crazy things like rape a fourteen year old Iraqi girl and murdering her and her family cold blooded. It was a tragic deployment and we can clearly see and feel the motions they had during their time in Iraq.

Throughout history, the United States Military has faced numerous scandals. From its role in the Vietnam War, to the Iran-Contra Affair, to the Iraq War, to the abuse and denial of due process rights to detainees currently held indefinitely at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; the Department of Defense has undeniably raised many questions about its ethics and treatment toward both civilians and fellow members of the Armed Forces alike. One recent scandal, which would now appear to be becoming the standard, is that of sexual assault within the military. However, due to a campaign of awareness, grassroots activism, and pressuring elected officials to do what is right, things are now beginning to change.

It was in Mosul that I was tasked with the dismantling of Al Qaeda in Iraq’s (eventually to evolve into the Islamic State) leadership in northern Iraq. Our targets were financiers, weapons facilitators, executioners, bomb makers and teams of fighters responsible for a daily stream of Iraqi and American blood that soaked into the dusty streets of that ancient city. My peers were among the best in my field; the men tasked to apprehend our targets, the finest warriors the United States could muster. Often, the death or detainment of a target was met with a degree of celebration by many, giddiness even. Many of these targets were responsible for the death of our compatriots after all. One fellow would take confirmation photos of the enemy dead, to hang around his work area, gruesome and impersonal trophies. There were fourteen assaults launched at my behest; I sought no trophies. Just as I watched my targets nurture violence, I saw family men caring for their loved ones, hoisting their children after an absence, fretting over budgets and seeking to isolate those they loved from the nature of their work. In the cold and calculating machine that is modern warfare; it’s easy to forget the humanity of the man standing opposite you. In the pursuit to end lives, I learned to value all

The fact that 2nd battalion led by LTC Frost almost accomplished a mission designed for a division is remarkable. LTC Frost demonstrated all the principles of the warfighting function of mission command. As ADP 6-0 says, “commanders influence the situation and provide direction, guidance, and resources while synchronizing operations. They encourage subordinates to take bold action, and they accept prudent risk to create opportunity and to seize the initiative,” LTC Frost was able to emulate.

The Phoenix Battalion planned, organized, and conducted a realistic and dynamic Active Shooter exercise that encompassed all facets emergency and first responders on Fort Leonard Wood. The exercise is a semi-annual event geared towards Protecting the Force through improved cooperation and communication between all agencies. HHD and Battalion staff facilitated the event, with the responding MPs coming from the 988th MP CO along with the SRT, EOD, CID and FLW Department of Emergency Services. Also, The 463rd "Solid Warriors" continued to forge the future through their support of NTC 15-10. CPT Michael Howard returned from NTC this week after watching his Soldiers in action performing duties as OPFOR and OC/Ts ISO 984th Military Police Company.

The autobiographical account titled The Last True Story I’ll Ever Tell by John Crawford and the Last Letters Home, a compilation of letters written by soldiers serving in the Iraqi invasion and presented by Life Magazines, are the two primary sources I will be focusing on in the following paper. My aim is to offer a

“Band of Brothers: E. Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne From Normandy to Hitler’s Eagle Nest”

Any American would be hard-pressed to turn on the news and not find something, anything, said about Operation Iraqi Freedom. The war in Iraq is one of the most publicized (and controversial) topics so far of the 21st century. Unfortunately, a common headline reads something like this: “5 Marines killed in Baghdad Today,” “15 American troops injured in a suicide bomb attack in Tikrit this morning.” What about the casualties that aren’t reported on the news? The troops that suffer - not from physical wounds that can heal, be stitched up, or adapted to live with – but from non-visible scars. Mental injuries are becoming increasingly common among today’s decorated war heroes. Many are too embarrassed, scared or