Hold the Line by Joe Kline

During Operation Iraqi Freedom 06-08, the mission of 6-9 Armored Reconnaissance Squadron, 3rd Brigade Combat Team was to secure and protect the towns and countryside in the area from a massive Al-Qaeda (AQI) concentration estimated at 4 battalions and keep any more support from coming from the north to Baquoba and Baghdad in the south. The East-West line was primarily a canal called the Marut Canal and the countryside around it. Holding this line allowed U.S. and Iraqi forces to build strength prior to attacking AQI, driving them to the Syrian border.