Oral History of Stefan Kosovych, interviewed by Kieran Walsh Taylor, 15 April, 2010

Oral History of Stefan Kosovych, interviewed by Kieran Walsh Taylor, 15 April, 2010

Stefan Kosovych was born on October 5, 1979 in Washington, DC. He graduated from The College of William and Mary with a B.S. in Chemistry in 2002 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army through ROTC. Contracting with the Army in 2000 during a time of peace, he found himself going to war following his initial training at the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course. In this interview, Kosovych recounts his experience as a platoon leader in Iraq from August 2003 to July 2004. Lieutenant Kosovych and his unit performed diverse missions, sometimes with little or no training. They hauled Iraqi munitions to be destroyed, conducted infantry patrols in downtown Baghdad, and participated in large-scale raids. Kosovych stresses the difficulties of being a leader including the tensions between him and his Noncommissioned Officers, as well as the strain of both completing the mission and taking care of his soldiers. His account contains situations that highlight the confusion of combat and the moral ambiguities of modern warfare. He also reflects on failures of leadership—those of his superiors as well as his own. Kosovych is a graduate from and holds a M.A. in History from The Citadel/College of Charleston.

Listen to the audio on the Lowcountry Digital Library.

The Citadel in War and in Peace -- The Second Gulf War

The Citadel in War and in Peace

The Citadel Archives & Museum

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application/pdf

English

Text

https://citadeldigitalarchives.omeka.net/items/show/209

Charleston (S.C.)

3 hours, 43 minutes

Kieran Walsh Taylor

Stefan Kosovych

Charleston, South Carolina