Handlung

No narrator. No script. These are the gripping true stories, told by the U.S. Army aviators, ground crews, and ground troops, who took part in the most consequential military operation of the Iraq War: "The Surge." Four intense stories of courage and sacrifice few know, and the lasting legacies they leave for our nation and the soldiers, who lived them.—Kenn Christenson

The Longest Month follows AH-64D Apache pilots from the hard lessons of training, to the brutal teacher of actual combat in Iraq. The pilot's journey begins with the U.S. Army's training centers in Fort Irwin, California, and Fort Polk, Louisiana. Pilots work with ground forces and other military assets, in training for the unconventional fight, which they would soon be heading to, in the streets and countryside of Iraq.

Acclimating to an entirely new environment, not to mention the daily threats from rockets and mortars, was just part of life at Camp Taji, Iraq. This would be the home of the pilots, and ground crews of the 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, for the next 15 months of "The Surge." Weather permitting, air crews were in the air 24 hours a day, every day, in support of the ever expanding ground operations. There were no routine missions, every time a crew would go up, they would be facing an evolving and increasingly deadly enemy.

An Najaf, one of the holiest cities in Shi'a Islam and the location, Diya Abdul Zahra Kadim has chosen for a fortified compound - with the goal of controlling the city. Kadim's 200 followers, "The Soldiers of Heaven" are highly trained and armed fighters, they are supported by another 200 conscripts. When an Iraqi Army convoy inadvertently enters Kadim's compound, and is immediately attacked, the call goes out for close air support! An Air Weapons Team from the 227th, is dispatched to the fight. In what would become one of the largest battles, during "The Surge," the team would come face to face with an enemy, unlike anything they've seen, before!

CW4 Keith Yoakum and CW2 Jason DeFrenn, stalwart team members, and informal leaders within the company of pilots and ground crews, they served. Everyone looked up to them, not only for their leadership, but for their dedication to their jobs and their willingness to help the younger pilots and ground crew members learn and grow in their jobs. These were Soldiers, whose commitment to their brothers and sisters, had no limit, and the proof would come on a day no one would forget.

Joint Security Station North, Tarmiyah, Iraq. Surrounded by an unseen enemy, and a long way from help, was every day life for D Company, 2-8 Cavalry. Their job was to work with local Iraqis to secure the town, and improve their living conditions. They were prepared for an uphill battle, they had no idea that the battle would come barreling through their front gates, packed with 1,000 pounds of explosives. In what can only be described as a modern day Alamo, the Soldiers of D Company were in a fight for their lives, as the call for help went out. An Apache team was only seven minutes away - the longest seven minutes of their lives!

The mission was just an orientation flight with another unit, that is, until the intelligence briefing. Checking out a local, suspected of building gun trucks, out west of Camp Taji, was just the cure for what was looking like a dull mission - until the gun trucks started shooting!