From the Inside Flap
Captain Gregory Robert Samuels is a full time Connecticut National Guard Officer and the former Company Commander of the 143rd Military Police Company out of West Hartford, Connecticut. The 143rd Military Police Company was deployed to Baghdad, Iraq, from April 2003 until April 2004 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF1). Captain Samuels was wounded by an improvised explosive device (IED) on 09 September 2003. He was medically evacuated to Germany then back to the United States due to a serious shrapnel injury to his right arm and subsequent nerve damage. He returned to Iraq at the beginning of December 2003. The whole unit returned to the United States in April 2004. Eleven soldiers, including Captain Samuels, were awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in combat. Not one soldier from the 143rd Military Police Company was killed while serving in Baghdad, Iraq. The 143rd Military Police Company has recently been awarded the Valorous Unit Award for “extraordinary heroism in military operations against an armed enemy.” Captain Samuels was also awarded a Bronze Star while serving in Iraq. He currently lives in Mansfield, Connecticut, with his wife and two dogs and is a graduate of the University of Connecticut class of 1992, with a Bachelor of Arts in English literature.
