The Road to Safwan is a complete history of the 1st Infantry 
Division's cavalry unit fighting in Operation Desert Storm. 
Stephen A. Bourque and John W. Burdan III served in the 1st 
Infantry—Bourque in Division Headquarters, Burdan as the 
Operations Officer of the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry. Based on 
extensive interviews and primary sources, Bourque and Burdan 
provide the most in-depth coverage to date of a battalion-level unit 
in the 1991 war, showing how the unit deployed, went into 
combat, and adapted to changing circumstances.

    The authors describe how the officers and men moved from the 
routine of cold war training to leading the Big Red One in battle 
through the Iraqi defenses and against the Iraqi Republican Guard. 
The 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry participated in the 1st Brigade 
attack on G-Day, the large tank battle for Objective Norfolk, the 
cutting of Basra Road, and the capture of Safwan Airfield, the site 
where General H. Norman Schwartzkopf conducted cease-fire 
negotiations with the Iraqis. The squadron's activities are placed 
squarely within the context of both division and corps activities, 
which illustrates the fog of war, the chain of command, and the 
uncertainty of information affecting command decisions.

    The Road to Safwan challenges the myth that technology 
won the 1991 Persian Gulf War. Contrary to popular view, it was a 
soldier's war not much different from previous conflicts in its general 
nature. What was different was the quality and intensity of the unit's 
training, which resulted, repeatedly, in successful engagements and 
objectives secured. It is the story of the people, not the machines, 
which ultimately led this squadron to the small town of Safwan.

_________________________________________________________

STEPHEN A. BOURQUE served with the Big Red One and earned 
a Bronze Star during Operation Desert Storm. Following his 
retirement from the army after twenty years enlisted and 
commissioned service, he obtained his doctorate from Georgia 
State University, taught at California State University, Northridge, 
and wrote Jayhawk!: The VII Corps in the Persian Gulf War. 
Currently he is associate professor of history at the U.S. Army 
Command and General Staff College. He lives in Kansas City with 
his wife, Debra. JOHN W. BURDAN III is a retired Army Officer 
living with his wife Bridget in Colorado Springs, Colorado. A West 
Point graduate, Burdan was commissioned as an armor officer in 
1977. He served with the 1st Infantry Division in the Gulf from May 
1989 to June 1992, receiving the Bronze Star and Bronze Star with 
V device for his service during Operations Desert Shield and Desert 
Storm.



What people are saying about this book

"The Road to Safwan illustrates problems that assailed every 
unit deployed in Desert Storm. It is a storehouse of 'lessons 
learned.'"—Gen. Donn A. Starry

"To my knowledge, this is the first scholarly book focused upon 
the all-important battalion and squadron level. The documentation 
is superb."—Brig. Gen. John S. Brown


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