Posted on Sep 12, 2019
MG Dana Pittard and MSgt Wes Bryant discuss Hunting the Caliphate. Ask questions below about America's War on ISIS?
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MG Dana Pittard and MSgt Wes Bryant will be here on 9/19 at 2PM EST to discuss the book Hunting the Caliphate: America's War on ISIS and the Dawn of the Strike Cell. Please ask questions below about America's War on ISIS.
DANA J.H. PITTARD retired from the U.S. Army in 2015 at the rank of Major General after thirty-four years of active duty service. He was a highly decorated combat leader and commanded units at every echelon from platoon through division, including multiple combat tours in Iraq and the Middle East. In 2014, he was chosen to lead the initial U.S. response to halt the aggressive spread of ISIS in Iraq. Dana has earned a B.S. from West Point, a master’s degree from the School of Advanced Military Studies at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University as a Senior Fellow. He is currently a vice president with a manufacturing company in Indiana where he lives with his wife Lucille and their two sons. For more on Dana visit him at http://www.danajhpittard.com.
WES J. BRYANT retired from the U.S. Air Force in 2018 at the rank of Master Sergeant after twenty years of active duty service. Embedded with Special Forces teams under a Navy SEAL task force, Wes was the tactical lead for a contingent of special operations JTACs to first set foot in Iraq to stop ISIS. As the senior enlisted JTAC to establish the BIAP Strike Cell, Bryant coordinated and controlled the first airstrikes against ISIS in the Baghdad region. He later deployed as the senior Special Tactics JTAC for special operations task forces hunting ISIS in Syria and Afghanistan.
Wes earned a bachelor’s in Asian Studies from the University of Maryland University College. He’s been a lifelong writer, amateur philosopher, and an avid student of the martial arts. He currently pursues writing and editing and teaches Chinese Kung Fu and Tai Chi in his community in North Carolina, where he lives with his wife, Katie, and their two daughters. Wes’ work can be found at http://www.wesjbryant.com.
DANA J.H. PITTARD retired from the U.S. Army in 2015 at the rank of Major General after thirty-four years of active duty service. He was a highly decorated combat leader and commanded units at every echelon from platoon through division, including multiple combat tours in Iraq and the Middle East. In 2014, he was chosen to lead the initial U.S. response to halt the aggressive spread of ISIS in Iraq. Dana has earned a B.S. from West Point, a master’s degree from the School of Advanced Military Studies at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University as a Senior Fellow. He is currently a vice president with a manufacturing company in Indiana where he lives with his wife Lucille and their two sons. For more on Dana visit him at http://www.danajhpittard.com.
WES J. BRYANT retired from the U.S. Air Force in 2018 at the rank of Master Sergeant after twenty years of active duty service. Embedded with Special Forces teams under a Navy SEAL task force, Wes was the tactical lead for a contingent of special operations JTACs to first set foot in Iraq to stop ISIS. As the senior enlisted JTAC to establish the BIAP Strike Cell, Bryant coordinated and controlled the first airstrikes against ISIS in the Baghdad region. He later deployed as the senior Special Tactics JTAC for special operations task forces hunting ISIS in Syria and Afghanistan.
Wes earned a bachelor’s in Asian Studies from the University of Maryland University College. He’s been a lifelong writer, amateur philosopher, and an avid student of the martial arts. He currently pursues writing and editing and teaches Chinese Kung Fu and Tai Chi in his community in North Carolina, where he lives with his wife, Katie, and their two daughters. Wes’ work can be found at http://www.wesjbryant.com.
Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF)
Joint Tactical Air Control (JTAC) / Forward Air Controller Course
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MG,
I would like to express my greatest appreciation for your many years of service to our country. People like yourself set a standard for everyone coming into service, a standard that always tests your physical and mental abilities to the edge, right to the limit. As a result of this, we have the sharpest , hardest working, relentless people in our military. I'm proud to know that you were on watch and I could sleep better knowing this.
Thank You Sir,
SK2 Martin
I would like to express my greatest appreciation for your many years of service to our country. People like yourself set a standard for everyone coming into service, a standard that always tests your physical and mental abilities to the edge, right to the limit. As a result of this, we have the sharpest , hardest working, relentless people in our military. I'm proud to know that you were on watch and I could sleep better knowing this.
Thank You Sir,
SK2 Martin
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PO2 Michael Martin
I have a lot of respect for someone who rises to Major General, so you see, it was my pleasure
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Seems ISIS insurgents were not as barbaric as Philippine insurgents during the Philippine-American War. The commander of US forces, General Otis, noted that many American soldier prisoners were tortured in "fiendish fashion" by the Filipinos. I've only heard of a few isolated cases of American soldiers being tortured by ISIS. So, it seems they were not as barbaric as the Filipinos.
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Don Quigley
"There is only one way in which one can endure man's inhumanity to man and that is to try, in one's own life, to exemplify man's humanity to man." Alan Paton. I like your profile picture by the way.
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MSgt Wes Bryant
These are two very different wars and circumstances, without a doubt. Regarding ISIS and torture--that has been one of their mainstays. Their history is now full of documented cases of torture and genocide, and high-profile beheadings of western captives were a common occurrence early on--as we've highlighted in the book, they coincided with our major campaign successes. Luckily, American forces have not been captured by ISIS.
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MSgt Wes Bryant
Yes, I agree. Part of my personal motivation for writing my part in this book was actually to educate the public on just what you allude to above. Our past wars, they were a different time and under different circumstances, and frankly a lot of what we did (nukes included) seems to have been out of desperation, militarily. Now, we don't have that constraint. We now have the ability to conduct far more ethical warfare--if you term warfare as ethical in regards to minimizing civilian casualties or collateral damage. Our book truly highlights and portrays just how much our military pays attention to waging war in a far different manner than ever before--precision targeting of enemy forces with preferably no civilian loss while mitigating collateral damage as much as possible. That is a point of pride, for me, to have served in a military such as ours. There are not many militaries in the world that take as much care as we do in conducting warfare in this manner.
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MG Pittard, MSgt Bryant:
First thank you both for a lifetime of Service to this nation, defending its Constitution, and its people.
I had the great honor to serve in two different tours, in two different Branches, in three different units, in the 1AD. In my second, I was honored to serve under MG Pittard. In my first days as a newly pinned IRON MAJOR, I was humbled when (then) COL Hamilton sent me in his stead to represent the 212th Fires Brigade at board to inquiry 1AD fatalities. I was impressed that the DIV Commander took time out of his personal calendar to dive into the details of each and every fatality, and try our damnedest to prevent re-occurrence. Open kimono, lets get to the bottom of this - every Soldier in my Command deserves this due diligence. Humbling.
In 2014 I transferred from 212th FiB to (on paper) the 1AD staff in order to deploy to the USCENTCOM AOR with the 1AD TAC FWD in Jordan. It was hush hush then, but it's a matter of record now. CENTCOM Forward - Jordan watched as the "Arab Spring" of 2013 turned into full Civil War in Syria in 2014. We did what we could, but our hands were tied.
I appreciate you continuing to bring your insights of that time, and this issue, to the future leaders of this great US Army and the Joint Force.
HOOAH, Sir, IRON SOLDIERS
First thank you both for a lifetime of Service to this nation, defending its Constitution, and its people.
I had the great honor to serve in two different tours, in two different Branches, in three different units, in the 1AD. In my second, I was honored to serve under MG Pittard. In my first days as a newly pinned IRON MAJOR, I was humbled when (then) COL Hamilton sent me in his stead to represent the 212th Fires Brigade at board to inquiry 1AD fatalities. I was impressed that the DIV Commander took time out of his personal calendar to dive into the details of each and every fatality, and try our damnedest to prevent re-occurrence. Open kimono, lets get to the bottom of this - every Soldier in my Command deserves this due diligence. Humbling.
In 2014 I transferred from 212th FiB to (on paper) the 1AD staff in order to deploy to the USCENTCOM AOR with the 1AD TAC FWD in Jordan. It was hush hush then, but it's a matter of record now. CENTCOM Forward - Jordan watched as the "Arab Spring" of 2013 turned into full Civil War in Syria in 2014. We did what we could, but our hands were tied.
I appreciate you continuing to bring your insights of that time, and this issue, to the future leaders of this great US Army and the Joint Force.
HOOAH, Sir, IRON SOLDIERS
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MG Dana Pittard
Thanks Scot! It is great to hear from you. I hope all is well. I remember you at 1AD and Fort Bliss. Thank you for your continuing service to our nation. It was certainly an honor to serve with you at Fort Bliss. I just spoke to BG Dave Hamilton earlier this week.
In Chapter 3 (A Stage Set in Syria) of our book, we talk about the CF-J mission in Jordan in 2013 (about a year before you arrived in Jordan). I would love to get your feedback on that chapter.
IRON SOLDIERS!
In Chapter 3 (A Stage Set in Syria) of our book, we talk about the CF-J mission in Jordan in 2013 (about a year before you arrived in Jordan). I would love to get your feedback on that chapter.
IRON SOLDIERS!
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It was an honor to have at that time COL. Pittard In charge of our AO during our deployment. We were at FOB Warhorse along with the Big Red 1. Sir you were the epitome of leadership. You treated the C Co 141 ECB with upmost respect and dignity. The way you honored our fallen showed great respect and love towards troops under your command. You fought hard to see to it we Trailblazers had the equipment we needed to continue our route clearance mission and secure our assigned routes. Thank you again Sir it was an honor.
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MG Dana Pittard
Boo,
Thank you for your service. We all appreciated and respected the difficult and dangerous route clearance mission you and your unit had in western Diyala Province in 2004. Your route clearance mission invariably saved the lives of countless Soldiers in the "Duke" Brigade (3rd BCT/1ID). I would fight to serve again in combat with you and other North Dakota Guard units.
I will never forget the sacrifices of all of you; especially our fellow fallen comrade SPC James "Tugboat" Holmes who was killed in May 2004. I remembered meeting "Tugboat" Holmes. I was humbled and honored to be able to speak at his memorial service at FOB Warhorse. We eventually re-named the FOB Warhorse helipad in his honor and memory. SPC Holmes' name is still inscribed on the "Walk of Heroes" at the 1st Infantry Division (Big Red One) Headquarters at Fort Riley, Kansas.
It was an honor to serve with you and the Trailblazers! God bless you and our other fellow Soldiers in C Co., 141 ECB.
Sincerely,
Dana Pittard
Thank you for your service. We all appreciated and respected the difficult and dangerous route clearance mission you and your unit had in western Diyala Province in 2004. Your route clearance mission invariably saved the lives of countless Soldiers in the "Duke" Brigade (3rd BCT/1ID). I would fight to serve again in combat with you and other North Dakota Guard units.
I will never forget the sacrifices of all of you; especially our fellow fallen comrade SPC James "Tugboat" Holmes who was killed in May 2004. I remembered meeting "Tugboat" Holmes. I was humbled and honored to be able to speak at his memorial service at FOB Warhorse. We eventually re-named the FOB Warhorse helipad in his honor and memory. SPC Holmes' name is still inscribed on the "Walk of Heroes" at the 1st Infantry Division (Big Red One) Headquarters at Fort Riley, Kansas.
It was an honor to serve with you and the Trailblazers! God bless you and our other fellow Soldiers in C Co., 141 ECB.
Sincerely,
Dana Pittard
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