Robert S. Colella: Battle for Baqubah

Battle for Baqubah: Killing Our Way Out is a firsthand account of a fifteen-month span in the volatile Diyala Province of Iraq. 

This story is presented through the eyes of a first sergeant serving with B Company 1-12 Cavalry (Bonecrushers), 1st Cavalry Division, out of Fort Hood, Texas. The author takes the reader into the midst of the conflict in and around Baqubah-Iraq's "City of Death"—a campaign that lasted most of 2007. The author and his fellow Bonecrushers watched as the city went from sectarian fighting amongst the Shiite and Sunnis, to an all-out jihad against the undermanned and dangerously dispersed US forces within Baqubah and the outlying areas.

Robert S. Colella was born and raised in Levittown, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Harry S. Truman High School before joining the U.S. Army and serving throughout the world, including multiple tours of duty in Iraq. He retired as a senior military instructor with the University of Central Florida's ROTC program. He lives in Florida with his wife, Jennifer, and two daughters.