In command of Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment during Operation Phantom Fury - the November 2004 combined-joint assault to retake the Iraqi city of Fallujah - Captain Chris Brooke, in this interview, relates in great detail his unit's role in this decisive urban fight. Focusing at length on the joint aspect, he describes the pre-mission planning and coordination that occurred with Marine Regimental Combat Team 1 - to which 2-7 CAV was assigned for this operation - and, once the battle began, the experience of having Marine Corps demolition soldiers and Air Force tactical air controllers attached to his company, as well as the challenges posed by friendly Iraqi units in the battlespace. While Brooke discusses in depth the combat his unit engaged in, he also speaks about the Marines and how he wishes his men would have been allowed to assist them more. "You've got a company of battle-hardened fighters," he said of his Charlie Company. "They fought extremely well against a tough enemy for past few days. They’re a mech task force and can do a lot of damage. All they want to do is keep fighting. They’ve got brothers in the Marine Corps who are phenomenally brave but are fighting with significantly less firepower than we can bring with one Bradley section. We can and want to help, but without effective communication and a visual marking system that’s agreed upon by both the Marine squad in the building and my Bradleys, we’re limited in what we can do.” About the ultimate resolution of the battle, Brooke said of the enemy: “They had fortified their positions, they thought we would fight them house-to-house from the start, and they decided they would fight to the death. Well, they did fight to the death; it just wasn’t as they had anticipated.” He added: “If you fight fair, your soldiers will pay the price in the end.”

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