Bull Company, 1/2 SCR
The story of “Bull” Company and the entire 1st Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment (1/2 SCR) began with their first deployment to Iraq as the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment (1-5 INF) in 2004. In the streets of Fallujah and Mosul, the future leaders of 1/2 SCR cut their teeth learning the hard lessons of block-to-block urban combat. After 12 months of fighting, they returned home to take on a new class of privates and teach them the skills necessary to survive modern kinetic warfare.
One year after returning home from Iraq, the men of 1-5 INF re-flagged into 1/2 SCR and moved to Germany, where they shared their extensive combat experience with America’s NATO allies in Europe. In mid 2007, the unit received orders to deploy once more to Iraq where they would serve a crucial role as a front-line element across the eastern districts of Baghdad.
It was in the streets of Sadr City where the men of Bull Company — along with the entire 1st Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment — would face the true test of their skills. For fifteen months, they served as a quick reaction force element and the only unit authorized to carry out conventional kinetic-action raids against high value targets of the Ja’Ish Al-Mahdi. When the fight kicked off in the spring of 2008, they were thrust into the fray and pushed to the limits of human endurance.
Upon their return from Iraq, the men of 1/2 SCR received a Valorous Unit Citation for their critical role in Operation Stryker Denial and Operation Gold Wall during the 2008 Battle of Sadr City.