Wayne's World 2005: Day 42 - "A Company of Soldiers," PBS Special

Staff SGT Donald Wayne West, Jr., enlisted in the United States Army National Guard on September 11, 2001. As part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Company A of the 150th Combat Engineers served active duty Aug 29, 2004, until Dec 30, 2005. SSGT West returned to college in January, 2006. He married Lauren Ritchie June 9, 2006, at Seaside, Fla., and they have three children. SSGT West completed military service at Camp Minden, LA on Aug 23, 2009.

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

Day 42 - "A Company of Soldiers," PBS Special

Over 30 days and 26 missions, the story of the men of Dog Company--the Army's 1-8 Cavalry Regiment stationed in South Baghdad on the bank of the Tigris River. The final battle for Iraq will be won in places like this by soldiers like these.

Bradley Graham speaks with Lt. Col. John Allen, Capt. Jason Whiteley and others in the 1-8 Cavalry for this Washington Post story in which he writes, "Switching from kindness to killing and back, sometimes within minutes or hours, is a strange experience for many U.S. soldiers here. It results from fighting a tenacious insurgency while trying to win over a population and build a new nation." (Dec. 4, 2004)

Available now for viewing online at:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/company/