Resilience: Warriors Rise

The series will document the journeys of veterans who have turned their personal service experiences into a powerful force for positive change. These veterans now act as advocates and mentors for individuals encountering comparable challenges. We are honored to share their powerful legacy story.

FIRST SEASON:
We aim to film December 5-8, 2024, AND PUBLISH in 2025 on all streaming platforms, including, but not limited to, Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Prime; we aim to pitch to Discovery Channel and Netflix.

FILMING LOCATION: FORT CAVAZOS, TEXAS
START-UP BUDGET: $20,000
FULL BUDGET TO PRODUCE SEASON 1 WITH 5 EPISODES: $150,000

Season 1: The Battle of Ameriyah, Baghdad, Iraq. The Black Knights: A Story of Valor and Resilience
Description: This is an in-depth look at the Battle of Ameriyah, Baghdad, Iraq, 2006-2008, the story of the 1 st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment. These soldiers found themselves in one of the most consequential moments in the entire eight-year war in Iraq. The actions they took, the restraint they demonstrated, and, perhaps more
importantly, the moral behavior they exhibited, altered the character of the entire conflict.

We will interview the battalion leaders - Dale Kuehl, Chris Rogers, Chip Daniels, as well as other 1-5 Cav soldiers. We will also interview General David Petraeus to provide context for why this fight against Al Qaeda was so strategically significant. These leaders will discuss their stories from the battlefield that influenced the Iraq war and future engagements in the Middle East. They will discuss their perspectives on the effect of war on their personal and professional lives.

Purpose: The narrative of 1-5 Cavalry (CAV), also known as the Black Knights, serves to honor the fallen, instill pride in the battalion’s veterans, garner appreciation from the general public, and inspire future leaders as they prepare for operations in an increasingly complex world. Additionally, we hope to highlight how these men and women have dealt with PTSD, moral injury, and family stresses in order to assist others facing similar challenges.

Episode 1: Introduction and Background
Title: "The Knights of Ameriyah"
Key Figures: Colonel (R) Dale Kuehl, Major (Ret.) Michael Meyers, Colonel (Ret.) Chip Daniels, Colonel (Ret.) Chris Rogers, Canadian in Exile Iraqi War Hero, General David Petraeus. Focus: Overview of key leaders and their backgrounds; personal stories - where they are now, professionally and emotionally. Introduction to the battalion's mission and the defining moment on May 19, 2007, setting the stage for the series. Eighteen soldiers gave their lives, with 14 in a single month during the summer of 2007. Many, many others were wounded...and not all wounds were visible. In the years since the deployment, soldiers have suffered from PTSD, moral injury, and several have taken their own lives as they struggled to reconcile with their experiences.

Episode 2: Movement to Contact
Title: "From Texas to Baghdad";
Time Frame: Training in Texas through early May 2007.
Focus: This episode will cover training and readiness at the home base; strategic, operational, and tactical planning; a crucial event: the crucible moment on May 19; and 1-5 Cav’s response.

Throughout the Spring of 2007, the US strategy to surge additional forces into key areas and operate continuously from combat outposts, created a dilemma for Al Qeada in Iraq (AQI), causing it to increase violence against combatants and innocent civilians alike. That violence came to a brutal head in the month of May, across the Baghdad community of Ameriyah. AQI ruthlessly attacked local citizens and Iraqi soldiers alike,
disfiguring, dismembering, and murdering them in an act of desperate intimidation. Then, a series of ferocious deep-buried IEDs, small arms fire, and sniper attacks against US Forces, killed several Black Knights. Then, on May 19 th , as the battalion conducted an operation to establish a new security outpost, another deep-buried IED was detonated beneath a Bradley Fighting Vehicle, killing all six Soldiers and a local interpreter.

Soldiers seethed with anger and thoughts of “doing a Fallujah” spread through the ranks. Cooler heads prevailed, however, and the soldiers continued their mission with amazing discipline; employing violence, in overwhelming fashion, only when the situation warranted.

Episode 3: Actions on Contact
Title: "Turning the Tide"
Time Frame: May – June 2007

The patience and perseverance of the soldiers of 1-5 Cav paid off on the evening of May 29th when an influential imam in Ameriyah called the battalion commander to tell him that local citizens, disgusted by the violence and intimidation against their families and friends, were going to assassinate key AQI leaders the next day. Realizing that the imam was not asking for permission, but rather informing him out of courtesy, Dale
Kuehl wished them good luck. The local militia formed to attack AQI was made up of former nationalist insurgents who had been fighting 1-5 Cav directly. Although this force was initially successful, AQI counter-attacked on May 31st in brutal fashion. The imam called again, this time pleading for the Americans to help. This began a partnership that changed the course of the entire war in Iraq. The most violent neighborhood in Iraq, during the bloodiest month of the war, soon became one of the safest, with no attacks on American forces from August 8th until the Black Knights departed in January 2008.

The men of Ameriyah formed a local militia, eventually called the Forsan al-Rafaidain (FAR). Launching operations with the FAR initially posed challenges, particularly with Iraqi Army forces, and opportunities. The collaboration demanded meticulous planning and execution to align both sides toward the shared goal of stabilizing the region. This required regular meetings, transparent communication, and mutual respect for eachother's capabilities and limitations. Through this joint effort, the former enemies began to
develop trust…while under fire.

Episode 4: Exploitation
Title: “Victory”
Time Frame: June – December 2007

1-5 Cav and the FAR captured or killed more AQI in the first two weeks of June 2007 than in the previous eight months combined. Violence began to plummet, and the leaders of both forces realized that AQI had been defeated in Ameriyah – those that survived had fled. The leaders turned their efforts to building trust with the local citizens by developing the “three-legged stool” of combined operations between the Black Knights, the FAR, and the Iraqi Army.

The battalion also launched an effort to rebuild a shattered community, funding and facilitating construction projects to repair shops, roads, and schools. Dale found himself in the odd position of advocating for the Sunnis of Ameriyah, former enemies in many cases, with the Shia-dominated and skeptical Iraqi national government. The unit restored local governance, giving the people a voice in their future. The Black Knights were even invited to Iraqi weddings, where they were introduced to the wives and children of the men they had fought with.

These actions often conflicted with rules and regulations, but General Petraeus provided top cover. He expected the leaders to take risks and fight through all adversity – adversity from the Iraqi government as well as senior U.S. military leaders and elected officials. When it worked, Petraeus highlighted it to the U.S. Senate in his testimony in September 2007 on the progress of the Surge. The model worked…and was replicated
across Baghdad and the rest of Iraq for the remainder of the conflict.

Episode 5: Consolidation and Reorganization
Title: "Coming Home"
Time Frame: January 2008 – present day
Spanning from January 2008 to the present day, 'Coming Home" explores the profound journey of returning soldiers as they transition from the front lines back to civilian life. For many, this took years. The cost to relationships and mental health was terribly high. Tragically, far too many took their own lives. And yet, many Black Knights emerged from this crucible more motivated than ever to help their fellow veterans and their families.