Holding the Line in Mosul: A 10-Hour Urban Battle with Blackhawk Co.

About this episode

Joe Troutman shares his experiences from a 10-hour urban battle in Mosul during the Iraq War.

In this episode of Combat Story, Joe Troutman takes us inside one of the most intense and least-documented firefights of the Iraq War — a 10-hour urban fight in Mosul where Blackhawk Company, 1-23 Infantry, held ground without air support, under sustained RPG, machine-gun, and IED attacks. Joe served 18 years on active duty in the U.S. Army as a 13F Fire Support Specialist and Forward Observer, deploying multiple times to Iraq and Afghanistan. From the early days after 9/11, through the birth of the Stryker Brigade, to the brutal street fighting that followed, Joe's story captures what combat actually looks like at ground level — confusion, exhaustion, courage, and decisions made under fire. Much of this conversation centers on the events chronicled in Joe's book, Gods of War: The Legend of Blackhawk Company 1-23 Infantry, including: - The first combat casualties in Stryker Brigade history - A catastrophic vehicle rollover on Blackhawk Company's first patrol - The August 4, 2004 Battle of Mosul, where insurgents launched a coordinated, city-wide ambush designed specifically to destroy Stryker forces - Holding key terrain "at all costs" while outnumbered, undersupplied, and cut…

People in this episode

Host: AJ Pasciuti

Guest: Joe Troutman

Topics covered

• Iraq War
• urban combat
• military history
• firefight
• leadership
• survival

Keywords

• Mosul
• Iraq War
• Blackhawk Company
• urban battle
• military
• firefight
• Stryker Brigade
• combat experience

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: U.S. Army, Stryker Brigade

Books & works: Gods of War: The Legend of Blackhawk Company 1-23 Infantry

Places: Mosul, Iraq, Afghanistan

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