Lieutenant Colonel Mike Silverman
RAMADI, IRAQ – I met and interviewed dozens of Army officers in Baghdad and Ramadi, but none who were as admired and respected by the men who serve under them as much as 3rd Infantry Division Lieutenant Colonel Mike Silverman from Midway, Georgia. Junior officers and enlisted men nicknamed him “the forty pound brainer,” and admire him for his guts as well as his head. “He went out and spent 12 hours a day in his hot tank,” during the battle of Ramadi one soldier said. “He risked getting blown up just like everyone else.” “I had served with him before,” said another. “When he told me he needed me in Ramadi, that was all I needed to hear. I mean, I didn’t have any choice because the Army gave me my orders, but that didn’t matter once I knew Colonel Silverman was out here.” “I’d do anything for that man,” said a third, “and I don’t like officers.”
I had dinner with him at the dining facility and interviewed him afterwards in his office at the Blue Diamond base in northern Ramadi.
“How long have you been in Ramadi?” I said.
“Since the last week of January, 2007,” he said. “When I first got here my area of operations was the southern half of downtown. It was ugly then, especially for the civilians. We found more than 50 dead in just one grave in the desert. 50,000 – 70,000 people have returned so far since the war ended in April.”
“Describe the progress you’ve seen so far,” I said.
“Sure,” he said, “let’s look at the Abu Bali area for example. 6,000 or so people live there. When I first arrived there were 10 attacks every day just in that small area alone. Since May 1, 2007, we’ve had only one attack total in that area. The people went from having two to three hours of electricity a day to having twelve hours a day. Insurgents kept blowing up the power lines, but now that they’ve been cleared out the government has put them back up. Commerce has really taken off.”
“What’s the most encouraging thing you’ve seen here?” I said.
“On the second or third day the PSF [Provincial Security Forces] took over a checkpoint on a highway.”
The Provincial Security Forces are a “national guard” of sorts controlled by the tribal authorities in addition to the Iraqi Army and Iraqi Police in the area. They resemble a militia in some ways, but they’re a legal branch of the Iraqi security forces, authorized and paid by the Ministry of Interior in Baghdad.
“An ice truck dropped off its ice at a checkpoint,” he continued. “The truck behind it in line exploded. Everybody was killed. For a five or six hour period we weren’t sure the PSF would go back to work. But eight hours later they were back in business. They are 100 percent committed to anti-terrorism and anti-sectarianism.”
“What were the battles in the city like?” I said.
“It would only be a mild exaggeration,” he said, “if I compared it to the battle of Stalingrad..."
I count 14 U.S. soldiers killed in Ramadi during the fight.
I believe the Soviets had 500,000 soldiers killed during the defense of Stalingrad.
Well, but how many germans were lost at Stalingrad?
It could have been like a one-sided Stalingrad. If the iraqis lost 50,000 that would be 10% of Stalingrad right there.
J Thomas, according to a quick check of Wikipedia, it seems that close to 750k died on each side (Germans and Soviets) plus about 40k civilians and over 100k Germans captured.
So, it sounds like this was a pretty severe exaggeration. I bet it SEEMED like Stalingrad to those involved.. but probably only because nobody can imagine what it must have been like back then.
Hmm, maybe he was waxing metaphorically? And it was a last stand that could not be lost?
I don't know how many people were killed, but I do know that large swaths of the city look like Stalingrad. Been there, seen it, took the photos.
"We had to destroy the city to save it."
Been there, done that.