Captain George Rodriguez commanded Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry Regiment - a New York National Guard unit - during the Easter Sunday Battle of Samarra in April 2004. Attached to 1-26 Infantry, his unit relied on vehicle armor fabricated by a platoon sergeant who was a welder. "That's all we had," said Rodriguez, "They gave us some 113s, but the 113s broke down a lot and the armor on them was probably worse than the armor we built ourselves." After insurgents had dispersed the police and Iraqi Civil Defense Corps soldiers in Samarra, his company was called on to help reestablish security. Hit by two improvised explosive devices as it moved into Samarra, Rodriguez's unit was attacked further as it moved into its blocking position. An insurgent on a rooftop fired a rocket-propelled grenade into the back of an open five-ton truck, killing one soldier and wounding six. After recounting how he and his men suppressed the insurgents with Mk-19 fire, Rodriguez describes pushing them back with dismounted infantry, setting up a casualty collection point under fire, and moving the company through the city to an alternate supply route to effect casualty evacuation. Rodriguez voices his frustration at being under mortar fire while evacuating the wounded, seeing the enemy's firing position but being able to do nothing about it. "We had called it in but at that time we were too close to the city and they weren't firing counter-battery," he said. "Later on they ended up firing 155 millimeter rounds. They simply didn't want to fire that close to the city." Rodriguez praises his battalion commander and operations officer for their conduct in the battle. Of his battalion commander, Rodriguez said he did not try to micromanage. "He'd let us fight the fight and we'd call back and tell him what we needed," while with his S3, "There was no unneeded radio traffic. You gave him the situation, they got what they needed and that was it." He notes that there was substantial fallout from entering Samarra with five-ton trucks (especially considering the casualties incurred), although prior to this battle there had been no insurgent contact in the city and hindsight is of course 20/20. Rodriguez also talks about the potential problems of being a National Guard unit in the media spotlight and closes his interview discussing the advantages of the wider and deeper skill pool inherent in older soldiers with civilian occupations.

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