On the World's Most Dangerous Roads
"A Company of Soldiers" Producer/Director Tom Roberts describes the crew's experience for the British publication New Statesman. He writes that after a month with the unit he found: "... the situation in Iraq is far worse than I had thought from the news I consumed in the U.K. It is hard to imagine a democratic society emerging from this bedlam. The best hope is probably some form of pro-western military dictatorship. It will be ugly nevertheless." (Jan. 31, 2005)

A Sharp Shift From Killing to Kindness
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)

Letter From Iraq
Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Ken Dilanian was embedded with the 1-8 Cavalry in January and February 2005. He wrote about life at Camp Falcon in this blog, which also contains links to his coverage for the paper. Of note is Dilanian's Feb. 13 article, U.S. Troops Walk the Fine Line, in which he writes: "The inability to separate the good guys from the bad is the central dilemma that has bedeviled American soldiers in Iraq for nearly two years as they have tried to root out an unknown number of insurgents who wreak havoc and then blend into the civilian population. Sent here with scant training in guerrilla war and no understanding of Arabic, mystified if not alienated by what they have seen of Iraqi culture, many soldiers are deeply frustrated. Though they are proud of some accomplishments, many worry that their work in Iraq will be wasted, with civil war likely as soon as they leave."

Men At War
This blog was maintained by Roger Leo, a reporter from the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, while he was embedded with the 1-8 between January and March 2005.

District Councils Take Charge In Iraq
This article from The Jerusalem Post examines the handover of power from the 1-8 Cavalry to the local district council. Reporter Matthew Gutman interviews Col. Stephen Lanza, Capt. Whiteley and others, and writes: "It will be a huge task for a grassroots body that has yet to secure a steady supply of funds, and that eventually hopes to farm taxes in the al-Rashid sector, one with some 1.5 million people and 46 percent unemployment, according to American officers here." (July 1, 2004)

Army Spc. Travis Babbitt; The Price of War Hits Home During Ceremony in Uvalde
In this article from The San Antonio Express-News, Spc. Travis Babbitt, one of the soldiers killed during the filming of "A Company of Soldiers," is remembered at his high school's Veterans Day ceremony. (Dec. 23, 2004)

Area Family Mourns Loss of Soldier in Iraq
Here is an article from theindychannel.com about the death of Spc. Raymond White, the other soldier killed during the filming of "A Company of Soldiers."

Battle Lessons
New Yorker writer Dan Baum finds that, when faced with an evolving guerilla enemy, the younger members of Army are finding new ways to share lessons from the war. "The 'slackers' in the junior-officer corps are turning out to be just what the Army needs in the chaos of Iraq," he writes. "Instead of looking up to the Army for instructions, they are teaching themselves how to fight the war. The Army, to its credit, stays out of their way." At the forefront of this new movement are the Web sites Companycommand.com and Platoonleader.org, founded by West Point students and now operating with the Army's blessings. (Jan. 17, 2005)

Training Day
For this edition of the public radio show "The Connection," host Dick Gordon speaks with Lt. Col. Leonard Wong of the Army War College, Maj. Pete Kilner, one of the founding members of Companycommand.com, and Baum of the New Yorker about the need for flexibility for soldiers deployed in Iraq. The panel praises the Army for recognizing that Companycommand.com and Platoonleader.org fill the void specific to Iraq's realities that exists in a soldier's training. The group also takes listener questions. (Jan. 25, 2005)

1st Cav Headlines
This archive from channel KCEN-TV in central Texas offers updated headlines on the 1st Cavalry as well as video reports and interviews.

1st Cavalry Division
The official Web site for the Army's 1st Cavalry includes news releases, information on its various divisions and resources for families.

Mustang Home Page
This is the official page for the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry, offering information on the unit's history, its organization, and a message from Lt. Col. Allen.

Operational Unit Diagram
This interactive page from the official Army Web site presents how the Army is organized, from Field Army to Squad.