Captain Brian Freeman - In Honor

Captain Brian Freeman was the chief U.S. liaison officer to Iraqi officials in Karbala, Iraq. He and four other soldiers lost their lives in an attack and kidnapping by a group of militants that U.S. officials believe to have been backed by Iran.

Freeman was a West Point graduate who served his five obligatory years of active duty and had returned to civilian life where he and his wife had a year old son and another child on the way when he was called back to duty as a member of the Individual Ready Reserve.

But, he felt uneasy about his assignment in Karbala. “He was an armor officer, more used to dealing with tanks and cannons than Iraqi politicians. Yet, in Karbala he was a civil-affairs official, doing work he felt was more appropriate for a diplomat than a soldier.”

He happened to meet Sen. Christopher Dodd while in the Green Zone for a furlough and he emailed the senator, “’Soldiers are being asked to do work we're not trained to do. I'm doing work that the State Department people are far more trained to do in fostering diplomacy. But they're not allowed to come off the bases because it's too dangerous here. It doesn't make any sense’…

… Freeman felt certain that the Iraqis he and his soldiers were supposed to be helping did not want them there. He and other troops suspected some of the police were members of the Mahdi Army… But even the wariest Americans have trouble believing that Iraqis who look them in the face each day could muster the audacity to try to kill them…

…By early this year, Freeman was beginning to question the assignment. He was having trouble sleeping during his stays in Karbala. When he returned from leave in January, he asked his commanding officers if he could skip the Karbala mission heading out Jan. 14. He suggested doing some other long-term projects at the main base. Not doable, Freeman was told. The mission was heading out as scheduled, with him in command.”

http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1647454,00.html.