Unable to deploy with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment - part of 3rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division - due to an illness when the unit went to Iraq in early 2004, Major Doug Walter eventually rejoined his comrades in country in July and became the brigade assistant operations officer, tasked primarily with the formation and training of the Iraqi Army in 3rd Brigade's area of operations. Based in Ba'qubah at FOB Warhorse, Walter had to content himself with an observer's role, then, when his former company, Alpha Company, 2-2, was sent to Fallujah in November as part of Task Force 2-2 to take part in the combined-joint fight that became known as Operation Phantom Fury (Al Fajr). When, however, his good friend and then current Alpha Company commander, Captain Sean Sims, was tragically killed days into the battle - and with the company executive officer, Lieutenant Edward Iwan, having also fallen in action - Walter was summoned back to the helm of Alpha Company by Lieutenant Colonel Peter Newell for the remainder of the fight. In this interview, Walter discusses these events and the intense emotional consequences of them in great detail, describing how he retook command of his old company at a critical moment in the operation and led them under fire in the most difficult of circumstances. He discusses the dangerous room-to-room, house-to-house clearing missions his company was tasked with, the securing of innumerable weapons caches, and offers insights into how Iraqi Army units performed and the capabilities and tactics of the enemy forces his company encountered. In addition, Walter hails the combat effectiveness of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, recounts the battlefield heroics of Staff Sergeants David Bellavia and Colin Fitts, and also speaks to the contributions and enduring legacy of his friend, Sean Sims. "He was an incredible soldier and even better person," Walter said, "and I don't think you can overestimate the impact Sean had during the first difficult days of that mission. He was always the battalion main effort, from conducting the initial breach onward. He did an incredible job and I think there are a lot of other people who are still alive today because of the way he led that fight. He gave his life fighting for something he believed in: trying to make the world a better place. He is truly a hero."

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited