{"product_id":"damn-fine-soldiers-the-epic-story-of-task-force-2-7-infantry-and-the-21-day-attack-to-baghdad-that-changed-modern-warfare-9781493096992","title":"Damn Fine Soldiers: The Epic Story of Task Force 2-7 Infantry and the 21-Day Attack to Baghdad That Changed Modern Warfare","description":"\u003cb\u003eA frontline account of the battles, the brotherhood, and the grit that defined the opening drive of Operation Iraqi Freedom.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003e2100 hours, 20 March 2003, western Kuwait\u003c\/i\u003e. Missiles streaked the night sky like the Fourth of July as American fighting vehicles revved and rattled near the Iraqi border. Distant fires flickered on the horizon. Jittery soldiers reported unidentified objects they thought were enemy tanks. The ground war in Iraq was fifteen hours old, and after more than a month in Kuwait, Task Force 2-7 stood ready to enter the fray - to breach the border and race toward their objective 400 miles away: Baghdad. During the next three weeks, the 2-7 would fight a series of eight battles culminating in the capture of Saddam International Airport and the thrust into the heart of Iraq's capital. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eLieutenant Colonel Scott Rutter commanded Task Force 2-7 - an aggressive battalion-sized outfit built to pack a punch while advancing fast - and then-Captain Matt Paul led a mortar platoon under him. \u003ci\u003eDamn Fine Soldiers\u003c\/i\u003e is their firsthand account of the 2-7's thundering drive up the Iraqi desert during the opening phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Beginning with the tense, uncertain moments when the task force rumbled into Iraq and swung its left hook along the Euphrates River, Rutter and Paul vividly narrate the 2-7's march through a landscape haunted by the landmarks of ancient Mesopotamia and littered with debris from Desert Storm a dozen years earlier. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFrom As Samawah to the Karbala Gap, from Saddam Airport to Baghdad, Task Force 2-7 waged a daring ground campaign that shocked and awed every bit as much as the massive aerial bombardment that preceded it. With the special grit and determination of the U.S. Army, the 2-7 fought its way north, battling a motley assortment of Iraqi Republican Guard, special forces, and militia - busting bunkers, demolishing enemy tanks, searching cars and buses - braving snipers, ambushes, boobytraps, and suicide bombers - enduring sand, sun, and heat - and dealing with the inevitable loss of good soldiers, one of whom would be awarded the Medal of Honor. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eVisceral and reflective, \u003ci\u003eDamn Fine Soldiers\u003c\/i\u003e is an unfiltered account of modern war, told from the tip of the spear that drove deep into Iraq in March and April 2003. More than a memoir by two commanders who led from the front, it is testimony and tribute to the fighting spirit of the American soldier.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Scott E. Rutter,Matthew Paul\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Stackpole Books Gpq\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/07\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.95lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.72d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781493096992\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 07\/01\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLt. Col. Scott Rutter\u003c\/b\u003e was one of the most visible soldiers of the first phase of the Iraq War, where he received the Silver Star for his leadership of Task Force 2-7. During his more than twenty-year career in the U.S. Army, he served in air assault, mechanized, and intelligence assignments. As a company commander during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, he earned the Bronze Star. After his retirement in 2004, he became a war correspondent for Fox News and covered events on the ground in Iraq, including the Battle of Fallujah. He has also appeared on CNN and MSNBC as a military analyst. A board member of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, Rutter now spends much of his time as a speaker and advocate for service members, veterans, and their families. He lives near Glassboro, New Jersey. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eCol. Matthew Paul\u003c\/b\u003e spent ten years as a platoon leader and company commander in various U.S. Army units. After serving in Iraq with the 3rd Infantry Division's Task Force 2-7, he returned with the 101st Airborne Division in 2006 to train Iraqi Security Forces and conduct counterinsurgency operations. Colonel Paul remains on active duty with the U.S. Army Acquisition Corps. He lives near Washington, DC.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"booksdeli.com","offers":[{"title":"Scott E. Rutter \/ Paperback \/ English","offer_id":48641322352797,"sku":"9781493096992","price":34.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0619\/5648\/9373\/files\/img_9e029e8d-27e6-4e59-b003-3f4cabc479d8.jpg?v=1784106589","url":"https:\/\/booksdeli.com\/products\/damn-fine-soldiers-the-epic-story-of-task-force-2-7-infantry-and-the-21-day-attack-to-baghdad-that-changed-modern-warfare-9781493096992","provider":"booksdeli.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}