Infantry, Mar-Apr 08 (AKO Log-In Required):

Lessons from Iraq: An Infantry Platoon Leader’s Thoughts on OIF Operations
Listed below are a number of observations based upon my 15 months service as an airborne infantry platoon leader in and around Samarra, Iraq. I have tried to organize my thoughts into specific areas which include small kill team (SKT) operations, mounted and dismounted patrolling, raids,interaction with local nationals, sensitive site exploitation (SSE) and miscellaneous topics. My observations are based on common sense … I think. During an assignment everyone forms his own opinions and develops his own techniques for doing things; these are the practices that have worked for my platoon and our particular way of conducting combat operations. Take what works for you and your area of operations (AO), or expand on my concepts to help prepare your platoon for deployment. Unfortunately, my company had a very bad relief in place and received almost no information or lessons learned from the previous unit. We spent the last year learning by trial and error what easily could have been passed on from our predecessors. This is my attempt to rectify those deficiencies and minimize the amount of practical knowledge lost between units.....