Mar 02 2025 66 mins 12
"Desert Storm" vet and Army Times reporter Kelly Kennedy leapt at the chance to embed with an infantry unit to work on a story about PTSD. What Kelly couldn't have known is that her unit, Battalion 1-26, Charlie Company, was one of the first to serve 15 months in combat conditions. (A decision later reversed by the U.S. Army.)
Kelly's unit was placed in a "hot spot" and given the impossible mission to win hearts and minds. In fact, these soldiers faced almost daily IED incidents, earning them the dubious distinction of becoming the hardest-hit unit in Iraq. Things came to a head when one day the team refused to go on patrol, following the death of a comrade. Their 'mutiny' became a political lightning rod that resulted in ruined careers, ostracism, and penalty by the military upon Charlie Company. Many struggled when they got back home, and predictably there were a number of suicides within their ranks.
Kelly reports on her experience, her own PTSD, and that of the soldiers whom she befriended, with whom she remains connected.
Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com
