On Ground In Iraq, Capt. Ayers Writes His Own Playbook

[Yamabushi]

Wall Street Journal
September 22, 2004
On Ground In Iraq, Capt. Ayers Writes His Own Playbook

Thrust Into New Kind of War, Junior Officers Become Army's Leading Experts; Risky Deal With Village Sheik
By Greg Jaffe, Staff Reporter Of The Wall Street Journal
RAMADI, Iraq -- In the space of four minutes in May, two Humvees in Capt. Nicholas Ayers's unit were hit by roadside bombs. In the chaos, one vehicle was left alone as soldiers, injured and under fire, took cover in a school and radioed for help.
By the time Capt. Ayers arrived on the scene, Iraqis had looted the Humvee's machine gun and high-tech gun sights. Losing equipment to the enemy is a mistake that can ruin an officer's career. Standard Army practice holds that the area should be searched immediately.
Instead, Capt. Ayers, 29 years old, took a risk. He went to the village sheik's house. As a sign of respect, he said, he wouldn't search the village. But he gave the local leader 48 hours to find and return the equipment. "If we don't get the equipment back, I am going to come back with my men and tear apart every house in this village," he recalls saying. If the gear was returned, he promised to reduce patrols in the area.
The gamble ran counter to Capt. Ayers's training,


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