This site is a historical record of the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment — the Sykes' Regulars — and their four combat deployments spanning Iraq and Afghanistan between 2003 and 2013. It exists for the soldiers who served, for their families, and for anyone who wants to understand what this battalion did and what it cost.
The 5/20th Infantry was the Army's first Stryker battalion and part of the first Stryker Brigade to deploy to combat. Across three tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan — spanning roughly 51 months of combat operations — the battalion fought in Samarra, Mosul, Baghdad, Baqubah, Diyala Province, and Kandahar Province. Twenty or more soldiers were killed. More than 77 received Purple Hearts, and those numbers are incomplete.
The Battle of Baqubah in 2007 was described by military historians as "arguably the most significant campaign of the war in Iraq after the initial invasion." The battalion walked into what was at minimum a brigade-sized fight and held ground for nearly three months before reinforcements arrived. The Afghanistan deployment took them to Zhari District in Kandahar Province — the birthplace of the Taliban — as part of the brigade's first combat deployment outside Iraq.
Much of this history has never been compiled in one place. This is an attempt to change that.
Samarra, Tal Afar, An Najaf, Al Kut. First Stryker infantry soldiers into combat. Replaced a 50,000-soldier division. 683 personnel, 74 Strykers.
Mosul, Baghdad, Baqubah. Extended from 12 to 15 months. Battle of Baqubah. Operation Arrowhead Ripper. Six soldiers killed by single IED on May 6, 2007.
Diyala Province, FOB Warhorse. Two soldiers killed on the first day. Battalion assumed five separate areas. Iraqi Security Force transitions and parliamentary elections.
Zhari District, Kandahar Province, FOB Pasab. The battalion's first deployment outside Iraq. Fighting in the birthplace of the Taliban — pomegranate orchards, grape fields, and canals in the shadow of Kandahar.
The 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment traces its lineage to the Civil War. Redesignated on August 16, 1986, the battalion served as part of the 2nd Infantry Division in Korea, patrolling the DMZ during and after the Cold War.
In 1999, the battalion was hand-picked to lead the Army's transformation to the first Stryker Brigade Combat Team — transitioning from the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division to the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. The 19-ton Stryker wheeled combat vehicles were designed for rapid deployment via C-130 aircraft, combining infantry firepower with strategic mobility. The battalion earned the Army Superior Unit Award for its role in this transformation.
Between 2003 and 2013, the Sykes' Regulars deployed four times — three to Iraq and once to Afghanistan — spending approximately 51 months in combat operations across some of the most contested terrain of the Global War on Terror. The battalion was part of a brigade that lost 88 soldiers killed in action in Iraq alone, and sixteen more in Afghanistan.
The 5/20th Infantry was one of four maneuver battalions in the 3d Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2d Infantry Division. The brigade's total losses across the Iraq War:
Names, dates, and circumstances for all soldiers killed in action across four deployments, including soldiers from attached units.
The Blackwater incident, the downed F-16, Lt. Watada, the battalion air assault, SSG Waiters' Distinguished Service Cross, and more.
Distinguished Service Cross, unit citations, and the 77+ Purple Heart recipients documented so far.
FOB Pasab, Zhari District, Kandahar Province. The battalion's fourth deployment and first outside Iraq — fighting in the birthplace of the Taliban.
Why this site was built, who maintains it, and how to contribute corrections, stories, or information.