Eyewitness to War Volume I The US Army in Operation AL FAJR: An Oral History

Eyewitness to War The US Army in Operation AL FAJR: An Oral History is
a unique publication for the Combat Studies Institute. It is our fi rst publication to
make exclusive use of oral history. This study is a derivative of the CSI Operational
Leadership Experiences (OLE) project, a program that collects and archives
fi rst-person experiences from the Global War on Terror. It can also be considered
a companion to the recently published CSI Occasional Paper #20: Operation AL
FAJR: A Study in Army and Marine Corps Joint Operations. Interviews collected
for 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 ght
so 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 Infantry
and 2-7 Cavalry) were committed to the streets of Fallujah. At this same time, the
Army’s 2d Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division formed a cordon to hold and isolate the
insurgents in the city. Using the fi repower and mobility of the Army’s heavy armor
and mechanized units to full effect, the Marine Regimental Combat Teams were
successful in destroying the enemy and securing Fallujah in ten days.
Eyewitness to War interviews span a wide spectrum of participants, from
commanders and senior non-commissioned offi cers at all levels to the fi rst-hand
accounts of combat and combat service support personnel on the battlefi eld. We
make no claim that this history is a comprehensive work, as these 37 people are
but a fraction of the thousands who took part in the operation. This is primarily an
Army oral history, though one of the Marine Regimental Commanders agreed to
provide his story. The USMC bore the brunt of fighting in Fallujah and this study
does not attempt to overlook their tremendous accomplishments.
The individuals featured in this work volunteered to work with our staff over
many months. Their stories are a tremendous testimony to the skill, fl exibility, and
bravery of the US Army today.