[January 7, 2025] The year ended with the execution of Saddam Hussein by hanging at approximately 5:00 in the morning on Saturday, December 30, 2006. His execution was for crimes against humanity. His co-conspirators were executed later. U.S. Americans had no part in the execution because this was part of our philosophy of allowing the Iraqis to run their own government.
Around the start of the new year, we were still in the mode of closing smaller, outlying bases or turning them over to Iraqi police or their military. This was keeping everyone busy, specifically since we were trying to adhere to U.S. environmental standards (a mistake since the Iraqis didn’t care). A question that concerned us in the early planning for an increase in troops was where we would put them; all were to be U.S. troops, mostly 3rd Infantry. Our footprint, meaning troop beddown capacity, was growing smaller by the day.
This planned increase in troop strength was expected to last six to nine months, steadily increasing in numbers with Brigade Combat Teams arriving about every 30 days. Who they were exactly and where they were going was an obstacle to both operational and logistical planning. That’s the kind of thing that drives Engineers up the wall. I was told the specific decisions were “in the bureaucratic system.”
My boss, COL Juan Fernandez, had just returned from emergency leave because his dad had passed away. His duties had fallen on my shoulders while he was away, and I’d never worked so hard in my life. On one day, for example, I attended 20 required meetings. But my work was nothing compared to the dangers of foot Soldiers and Marines who were the “door kickers.” Except for weekly travel by Blackhawk helicopter, I was rarely at risk of being killed.
On New Year’s Day, some of our Soldiers discovered 155mm Chemical Weapons rounds. These were classified as WMD and were Mustard Gas (HD), a nasty blister agent that had been in wide use during World War I. They were likely part of a stockpile that had been used by Saddam’s army part of a stockpile that had been used by Saddam’s army on civilian Kurds and Peshmerga in the north, killing upwards of 5,000 men, women, and children in 1988. This got our undivided attention.
Later that day, I was selected to fly out to Al-Asad Airbase and visit the Western part of the country, meet important Sunni Iraqis and a few of our Engineers. BG McDonald told me that the Iraqis wanted an “American Engineer,” and that’s why I got the job. Before we were to depart on January 6th, there was plenty of Engineering planning work that needed completion, plus extra meetings, special dinners, lectures, project updates, problem-solving, and even updates on Iraqi basing issues. For example, I was dragged into the Mosul Dam problems again, a long-term nightmare.
Before we left for Al-Asad, I updated my boss on the subject of Overhead Cover (OHC) and the history behind it from 2004 when the 1st Cavalry Division implemented it. Another big project was the detainee camp expansions to accommodate an anticipated increase in captures because of increased troops’ presence. Task Force 134, Detainee Operations, was the driver. They were a separate entity reporting directly to MNF-I and outside my chain of command. I was, nevertheless, asked to assist them, much to my displeasure. But, you do as ordered.
An army Engineer, MAJ Matthew Jefson, was the TF’s point man for this big task. As a side note, someone needs to capture the history of this operation, and maybe they have. Jefson was a good man, but he had to work for an MG “Jack” Gardner, a real ass, in my opinion. They asked for my help, but Gardner was insulted that his team would bring in an “outsider to assist.” It was not my problem, but I provided my advice silently. I came close to walking out, but being a team player, I provided some positive input to their plan.
In my next post on the pre-surge environment, I’ll discuss what happened when President Bush publicly announced the “surge” on television. It is good to know that up to this point, our planning for this troop increase was mostly academic and involved little actual coordination among staff sections and with our contractors.
One thing that kept me sane during this time was our Sunday morning prayer breakfast. COL Ken Cox attended with me, and we would go for breakfast together, then get a haircut and scalp massage. We’d be at work before 9:00 a.m.
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Waiting with anticipation for the next article. That will be what happens inside the Engineer staff after President Bush announced the “surge” to the American people and the world.
Sir, I’ve already learned alot from your short series so far. It may seem tedious to some folks here but giving your perspective as an Engineer staff officer of the surge buildup is great info. Plus, all the other Eve taking place at the same time like the hanging execution of Saddam Hussein. For that, we all thank you. God bless.
Sir, thank you for this long-awaited series on the “surge.” I’m looking forward to how this plays out over this year. Your recent series on letters to your granddaughter sets the stage for how this series will go. Perhaps next year you’ll publish it in book form. Maybe just like you did with “55 Rules for a Good Life.” I’m proud to be a reader of your blog. Thank you sir and especially thank you for your service.
Roger, welcome aboard. And , indeed we all have been awaiting this newest series. Gen. Satterfield is recalling his combat deployment from 2006 to 2007 when he was back for his second of three tours in Iraq. We will be able to see how the war progressed during this time.
I remember when the news reported this news. When evil is destroyed, it is a good day. Saddam Hussein was an evil man and those in America thought otherwise are hiding their faces in shame. Remember that Saddam used chemical weapons on the Kurds, and that made front page news but the liberals had forgotten about that, even as they go crazy over WMDs. They forget that WMDs include chemical weapons. And I think Americans are tired of their shit (pardon my French) and that is why woke Kamala Harris was crushed in this recent election. America is app out to become great again under a real leader, Donald J. Trump and JD Vance. My wife agrees. 💯
Thank you Gen. Satterfield for your service.
Sir, great project you have here. This entire project is going to take some time and I do appreciate, like others here, that you are taking us on this journey of yours. For those of us who never went to war or have any experiences with the war or the military, your words are helpful. We realize you were no “door kicker” and going after the enemy face-to-face, but that is not all that wins a war. Bravery is key but having smart military leaders who are strategically minded and operationally savvy is also key to a win. As this series plays out, please mention people by name when you can, especially when they do well. Or not. Like others have said and I concur, thank you for your service.
JT, I think you express what many of us are thinking about Gen. Satterfield in general and his newest series in particular. I am hopeful we learn more about the inside workings that we never read or heard about because the news media distorted what came out because they were biased against the war and then as now very un-American. Today we see this played out as they are shrinking in people who trust them and no longer value what they do. We all see them penetrated by this woke ideology that is a slow cultural destruction.
Indeed. I’m glad this website doesn’t go for all that woke crap.
Wow, nice to see this series get off the ground. My brother was in Iraq in 2007-2008.
Sir, it is good to know that being a Christian helps you be at peace within during your deployment in a combat environment. Thank you for your service. 🙏
Gen. Satterfield, I look forward to this complete series. Please create a tab on your site that has all your articles together, just like with your “letters to my granddaughter” series. That will be a huge help for slow readers like me. Thank you, sir.
Hey King Henry (nice moniker), I was about to make the same suggestion. 👍
King, great suggestion. I do plan on creating the tab within the week.
Gen. Satterfield, thanks for getting back to me and implementing my suggestion. It’s good to know that you read our comments and are willing to listen and make changes. This is one of the reasons so many of us are huge huge huge fans. Keep up the great work you are doing and we pray that you continue on good health.