THE STORY
‘Embedded Enemy’ Survivor Shares Gripping True Story of Deadly Terrorist Attack on 101st Airborne Division
Embedded Enemy is the true military crime story of the March 23, 2003, unprecedented deadly terrorist attack against the men and women of 101st Airborne Division by one of its own soldiers.
The wicked aftermath killed two officers and wounded 13 others. The victims were Army Captain Christopher Seifert and Air Force Major Gregory Stone. Seifert died from a gun-shot wound point blank in the back, while Stone died from 83 grenade shrapnel wounds.
From the frontlines, CBS News embedded correspondent Mark Strassmann, was the first to break the news worldwide reporting live from Kuwait, and airing on the CBS Sunday Morning Show, March 23, 2003. Strassmann stayed in the tent just behind the one where Seifert and Stone succumbed to wounds that eventually took their lives.
In a diary recovered after the March 23, 2003 attack, Akbar had written several statements that denote he was vehemently inspired and motivated by the Jihadi Ideology of terrorist organizations. For his crimes, Hasan Karim Akbar was tried at Fort Bragg, NC. in April 2005, and was found guilty on two counts of premeditated murder and three counts of attempted premeditated murder. A military jury sentenced Akbar to death where he currently awaits execution at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. His final appeal has been exhausted.
The soldiers and airmen killed and wounded in this attack never received the Purple Heart as casualties from an enemy of the United States. In April 2022, Bart personally recommended his Soldiers and Airmen for the Purple Heart Medal. October 22, 2022, a congressional inquiry was filed by a United States Congressman.
The United States military, and America has failed to recognize this attack as an act of terror, thereby making those killed and wounded ineligible for the Purple Heart Medal. In a response dated January 9, 2023, both the US Army and the US Air Force site that there was no evidence that the attacker was in communication with a foreign terrorist organization or that the attack was inspired or motivated by such an organization.
Bart is currently seeking further advocacy and collaboration to have the March 23, 2003 attack recognized as a terrorist attack under the precedence of Jihadi Ideology. Also, to have the military revise their regulations to award the Purple Heart Medal for Jihadi Ideology, Jihadi Radicalized and American Jihadist inspired or motivated attacks.
“These medals won’t bring back those killed or heal the bodies of those wounded. It will, however, serve as a testament that the United States of America recognizes their sacrifice and officially calls the attack a ‘terrorist attack.’”
20th Anniversary – February 2-4, 2023 Bastogne Reunion
Commemorating the 20th Anniversary of when they deployed for the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the 2003 Bastogne Brigade Team reunited at Fort Campbell, Kentucky where they were stationed twenty years ago. For many, this marked the first time seeing each other since that traumatic night two decades earlier in Kuwait.
The Command Team shared their firsthand accounts from the March 23, 2003 attack, with the Active-Component Soldiers, in a unique Leader Professional Development session, reinforcing the tenets of teambuilding and contributing to the readiness for future deployments.
In a solemn tribute, a wreath was laid at the Bastogne Club Monument to memorialize fallen brothers whose names are engraved in its stone. They are “Never Forgotten.”
