JOHNSON: Iraq veteran urges soldiers' return

By Bill Johnson, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Friday, July 4, 2008

He thought he could win the war.

If you watched Nate Sassaman and his men five years ago, as I did, such a thought was not out of the question. They were young men who turned ruthless when attacked, who strolled fearlessly through the nastiest, most dangerous Iraqi towns because they had earlier instilled in the townsfolk the fear of God.

Only months before their scheduled return home, it all unraveled when a squad of the Fort Carson soldiers ordered two Iraqi men to jump from a bridge near the Tharthar Dam overlooking the Tigris River.

Nate Sassaman is 45 years old now. "I'm 70 on the inside," he says, seated in his Colorado Springs home, "what with everything I've had to go through."

He seemed the perfect person to speak with for a column on this day, with its emphasis on patriotism and freedom. Nate Sassaman, at one point, seemed the poster boy for both.

Raised the son of a strict Free Methodist minister in Portland, Ore., he would be recruited to attend West Point, where in 1984 he would rush for more than 1,000 yards as a quarterback and lead Army to a national ranking and to victory in its first major post-season bowl appearance.

What happened between then and today he details in a new book he has written, Warrior King: The Triumph and Betrayal of an American Commander in Iraq.

It recounts his one-year tour in Iraq as commander of the 1-8 Infantry from Fort Carson, with whom I embedded as a reporter in December 2003, a time when the 1-8 was routinely being given the hardest, most dangerous missions other units failed to complete.

He returned home in 2004, his military career all but ended, having received an Article 15 reprimand over the incident at the bridge. He denies to this day ever attempting to cover it up or thwart its investigation.

"Originally, I just wanted something to leave for my wife and kids," the former lieutenant colonel says of writing the book. "And then, it got surreal."

For 12 to 18 months after returning home, rarely could he sleep at night. He would spend the time reading the papers, watching the news. Reports on the war were short, illuminating little of what he knew was actually going on.

"So I just started laying out my story," Nate Sassaman said, "never knowing if it was going to be read, much less published. I needed to tell my side of the story."

The story is often violent, beginning in the earliest chapters, from his dodging sniper rounds to rescuing a badly wounded soldier in his first weeks on the ground, to holding his best friend as he died from a tiny piece of shrapnel during a late-tour mortar attack.

"Above all, I felt I had an obligation to say we, and I mean a good number of commanders and general officers, were not doing what needed to be done to win that war," he said.

The response to the book has mostly been positive, Nate Sassaman said.

"I've gotten some really touching notes from soldiers who served with me, and that means the world to me.

"Other officers," he said, "have told me the book is spot on, that some senior officers are critical of it, but not to think for a second that not every one of them is reading it to learn from the stories and lessons I've laid out."

He is now athletic director and head football coach at the Classical Academy High School in Colorado Springs, a city his wife fell in love with during their time at Fort Carson.

"After 14 moves with the military," Nate Sassaman said, "my wife got the final choice. And Colorado Springs is a great place to raise a family."

A film company headed by Tom Cruise has purchased the rights of his life story. All that he knows is a script has been written, and that "20 million other things need to happen" before an actual movie is made, a prospect he dreads.

"They will never get it right," he said. "It is why I wrote the book."

Of the military, he pauses only slightly before saying he doesn't miss it.

"I loved every second I was in. I have no regrets. Not that I don't want to hear from my soldiers, but I am the kind of guy who closes the chapter and moves on."

Writing the book helped close that chapter, he said, and what he called his personal healing process.

What does he believe regarding the war now? Is he as gung-ho as I remembered him when we first met, both of us caked in Iraqi sand and dirt?

It is in the book, he says. And it is:

"Bring the soldiers home - now. Start today.

"That is not an unpatriotic sentiment, and it's not worthy of shame. It is the right thing to do. I don't care how many generals, colonels, captains - whatever - think they can win the war. You know why? Because I thought I could win the war, too."

• July 4, 2008

  1:13 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  arby writes:

  It is truly shameful that we prosecute our fighting people. We train them to be killers and then when they do what they are trained to do and expected to do. If they don't do it just right we court martial them and send them to jail. Shameful.
  In the heat of battle there isn't time to think about the Geneva Convention, the UCMJ, etc. There is only survival. Mistakes are made. But some fat butt back home who would probably cry if threatened by an angry babysitter decides to prosecute the people that are doing the job they were hired to do. Shameful.

  Meanwhile the President says waterboarding isn't torture.
  Double standards anyone? Dismiss all charges and restore rank. Or else waterboard the Commander in Chief.

• July 4, 2008

  6:57 a.m.

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  mrfxx writes:

  Arby " Or else waterboard the Commander in Chief." -heck, as someone who has been a registered Democrat for over 30 years, I would contribute to McCain's campaign to see everyone in the current administration who advocates torture waterboarded!

• July 4, 2008

  12:07 p.m.

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  arby writes:

  This will probably get scrapped so read it fast.

  The Dad is a real deal and was almost done in by the Japenese in WWII. They said they were only minutes from getting him when the navy beat them to it. Read "Flyboys"

  The son is a phoney Texan from Maine that can't speak English or Spanish either. He flew a jet a couple of times. Got out of his ANG commitment because of his connections. Started a stupid needless war. And has ruined our economy besides wounding and killing more soldiers than we will ever know. Soldiers, includes eveyone no matter the branch.

  If the legislative branch of our government lets Dubya start another war then they are even more negligent than he.

• July 5, 2008

  4:02 p.m.

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  tunaman65 writes:

  Interesting that Obama is now start to contemplate not bring the troops home as soon as he first stated. Wonder why?

• July 5, 2008

  9:23 p.m.

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  rakofgor writes:

  I'm glad he wrote a book so his version of the story could be told. That being said, O.J. wrote a book too.

  You can cherry pick any one person's story to illustrate any point you want to make. This column is a perfect exampe. The 1,215 soldiers who reenlisted in Bagdad on July 4 each have a story also.

• July 6, 2008

  12:37 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  arby writes:

  rakofgor
  Who wrote a book? It wasn't Dubya, he doesn't even know which way to hold one. Look at the picture from his school visit to his brother's state on 911. The reason he took so long to respond is he was still trying to read upside down and he can't do two things at a tme. Usually not even one.

  BTW OJ's book didn't get published yet and if it ever does the Goldman family gets the money. Good for them.

• July 7, 2008

  11:50 a.m.

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  Ted_in_Vegas writes:

  So now, that we're on the verge of victory, we still have people wanting to make decisions based on the the situation we faced a few years ago? How silly is that?

• July 8, 2008

  10:12 a.m.

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  Marshdale writes:

  Nate; you are a courageous man. I applaud your service. I have been opposed to the war from the beginning. To me it was obvious that we were being duped into it by this administration. I know that does not change your loyalty to your fellow soldier and it should not. For anyone to doubt your level of proffesionalism and committment to this country and your fellow soldiers is discusting. I also applaud your courage for writing this book. fom the gist of the column, it reminds me in a way, of a book Major General Smedley Butler wrote back in the thirties. If you don't know who he is, you should at least know he was one of the most decorated soldiers in US combat history. I think you may find some of his comments about war interesting. Here is a link to a short bio about him.

  http://rationalrevolution.net/war/maj...