ABOUT ALPHA COMPANY

Information about Alpha Company, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Unit Points about 4-31 (4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment) and the transformation in the Army based on how we are faced with new threats to our security:

• The Army now wants what it calls a “modular force” in which units with a variety of capabilities can be put together to form a larger fighting force called a Brigade Combat Team (BCT). Matt and his soldiers are part of 4-31, 2BCT from the 10th Mountain Division that deployed in August 2006. They are forward fighting in Iraq as part of the 2BCT (2nd Brigade Combat Team) in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and are slated to return in August 2007.
• 4-31 is an infantry unit (battalion) with 900 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel and a command sergeant major made up of 6 different companies.
• Infantry are soldiers who fight primarily on foot with small arms in organized military units, though they may be transported to the battlefield by horses, ships, automobiles, skis, or other means. The most important role of the infantry has been as the primary force of an army. It is the infantry which ultimately decides whether ground was held or taken, and it is the presence of infantry that assures control of territory. While the tactics of employment in battle have changed, the basic missions of the infantry have not.
• 4-31, aka The Polar Bears, activated in Manila Philippines in August 1916. It wasn’t until WWI when they earned their nickname in Siberia, Russia (1918 – 1920). The Polar Bears have fought in Siberia, Shanghai, the Philippines: Bataan (the Death March of Bataan), Korea: Hokkaido, Osan, Choisin, Triangle Hill, Old Baldy, OP Dale, Pork Chop Hill; Vietnam: War Zone C, the Mekong Delta, Cholon, Hiep Duc, the Que Son Valley, bloody Long An, the Plain of Reeds, Mount Nui Chom, Cambodia, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Djibouti.
• Polar Bears’ proud motto: Pro Patria, “For Country”
• Matt is in Alpha Company. Companies – with up to 150 soldiers - are commanded by captains and have first sergeants as their principal NCO. Matt is the 1SGT for A Co. A 1SGT is the highest ranking NCO (non-commissioned officer) of a company. The 1SGT is equivalent to a COO of a civilian corporation. Each company usually has about 130 – 150 men; Foxtrot Company is the only company in 4-31 that has women. They are the support company that has the cooks and truck drivers.
• 4-31 is operating out of a Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Iraq. Unlike some units that are stationed elsewhere, they are not eating lobster every night and having Baskin Robbins for dessert.
• While the names have flare, the accommodations don’t. They are in a very desolate and rural part of Iraq. Matt's company is living in an abandoned potato factory in room made out of plywood boards. They shower about once a week if the water is working. There is no PX (post exchange) where they can purchase their basic toiletries, magazines, books, and other creature comforts.
• 4-31 Soldiers are by far the busiest in the BCT and enjoy fewer comforts than most others. However, it is in their sector where the most progress can be made towards our overall goal of ending the need for US Army presence in Iraq.
• These Soldiers are doing work that is good and noble; they are making a difference in this world and doing something worthwhile with their lives. They truly believe they can make a difference and some of them give the ultimate sacrifice: their life. Since deploying in August, there have been 3 soldiers KIA and over 15 WIA.
• Each battalion is deploying every other year; Matt has several soldiers who are on their 3rd or 4th deployment to the Middle East – each deployment is 12-months long
• The average age of a Polar Bear is 26 yrs old; about 1/3 are married
• There are 60 Soldiers from the 10th MTN DIV (5 Polar Bears) recovering from their wounds at Walter Reed Medical Center; 2 have been there since 2004.
• This war more than others is showing all of us the need for family and community support for our Soldiers.