Interview with Col Emmett Schaill - Paperback

by Laurence Lessard (Author)

The former commander of 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment during its transformation to a Stryker unit, Colonel Emmett Schaill deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from September 2004 through June 2005 as the deputy commanding officer (DCO) for 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division - the Stryker Brigade - based in Mosul, Iraq. In this interview, he begins by sharing his expertise and insights on the Stryker vehicle itself in great depth, saying that "the beauty of the Stryker is the great flexibility it gives the commander at all levels." Schaill then moves into a discussion of a variety of leadership topics, from how to go about constantly challenging leaders' minds to fostering a learning culture within a unit. Next, he talks about his full range of DCO experiences in Iraq, starting with the deployment and handoff with 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, and then going into his particular duties, much of which were to just be where the commander - Colonel Bob Brown - wasn't. Schaill also was responsible for establishing and transforming the Stryker Brigade's intelligence and information operations in Mosul and for networking the brigade with higher intel assets, such as DIA, CIA and NSA, in order to defeat al-Qaeda forces. "When we first got there, we were getting mortared every day and you couldn't leave the gate without getting into a firefight. I said, 'This ain't going to stand, ' so we took the fight to them. A Stryker unit can do that." In terms of their success rate, Schaill said that, "As far as taking the fight to the enemy and really re-securing Mosul and a good part of northern Iraq, yes, we took that to them. We destroyed 80 percent of the al-Qaeda cells in northern Iraq, and that's by their own intelligence that we gleaned in interrogation reports and other technical means. That's what they were saying." Schaill speaks to his work with Iraqi Army units, which he calls a great force multiplier made up of "very brave soldiers" and the joint operations his brigade conducted with them. He also discusses the ethnic tensions that were present between Kurds and Arabs, the various lines of operation his brigade pursued, combating the northern Iraq al-Qaeda forces run by Abu Talha, the challenge that essentially open borders posed, his work with a number of influential Iraqi figures, and the high importance of empowering individuals down as far as you can go.