BARTELLA, Iraq _ Just before sunset on the first day of the Mosul offensive, Lt. Col. Ali Hussein Fadil called his soldiers to attention in a field about 30 miles east of the city where they had bivouacked.
After five months of training, and now three days of waiting, the 166-strong Najaf battalion of the Iraqi Special Forces known as Golden Division was itching to deploy. You have, he told them, exactly an hour and a half.
"Get ready and we will move toward Mosul," Hussein said, his voice stern.
The troops paid close attention to their clean-shaven commander's instructions, delivered in clipped Arabic: Don't enter houses alone. Take your bazookas and RPGs. Target suicide bombers' cars quickly before they reach us. Safety first. Commanders, be responsible for your soldiers. Beware of booby-traps and mines.
Some Iraqi commanders don't emphasize worst-case scenarios, worried about scaring their troops. Hussein said he wanted his men to be prepared for the worst.
They are modern Iraqi warriors, their training shaped by the U.S. invasion in 2003 and the vigorous fighting alongside American troops that followed it.
Hussein's favorite movie is "Black Hawk Down." His soldiers have seen "American Sniper" and "The Expendables," some several times. Their Humvees are stenciled with the skull symbol of the American comic book hero "The Punisher," adopted as an emblem by "American Sniper" Chris Kyle. They play "Call of Duty" and post selfies in uniform flashing peace signs. For meals, they must often deal with MREs, the standard field rations of the U.S. military.
Many of his soldiers wear battlefield apparel manufactured by Southern California-based 5.11 Tactical. They carry American M-4 carbines.
"Our supplies, training and equipment are American," Hussein said, but, "I'm an Iraqi soldier."
Around his neck, like some of his soldiers, he wears a religious icon, an amulet etched with a Koranic verse about combating evil. His troops have decorated their Humvees with pictures of lions, and nicknamed themselves "The Lions of God on Earth."
They are Muslims and Christians, Sunnis and Shiites, Arabs and Kurds.
Asked what sect he belongs to, Hussein just smiled.
"I'm working for my country," he said, "Only my country."
Raised in Baghdad, Hussein, 36, joined the army in 1998. He has lost more than 50 fellow soldiers in battle since. He himself has been wounded several times, the worst a gunshot wound in his right leg from an AK-47 while fighting insurgents to the south in Diyala in 2008.
Now they were preparing to go into battle again, and said a quick prayer.
"Praise Mohammed, peace be upon him, is your morale high?" Hussein shouted.
Yes, his men replied.
In the first town in their path, the Christian hamlet of Bartella, they could expect to find at least 30 Islamic State fighters, he said, likely lurking in abandoned homes.
"Don't go too fast or get excited," Hussein warned. "You have to preserve yourselves. You are heroes."
