Captain Jason Conroy, USA “a 14-year veteran of the U.S. Army, was the Charlie Company Commander, 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment.  He is the co-author of Heavy Metal: A Tank Company’s Battle to Baghdad. 

According to the book description of Heavy Metal: A Tank Company’s Battle to Baghdad, “During the Iraq War, coauthor Capt. Jason Conroy commanded Charlie Company, which was part of Task Force 1-64, 2d Brigade Combat Team, part of the U.S. Army’s 3d Infantry Division. A tank unit equipped with mammoth M1A1 Abrams tanks, Conroy’s company was literally at the tip of the U.S. Army’s spear and one of the first elements into Baghdad. Veteran journalist Ron Martz was embedded in Charlie Company. Together, from the unique perspective of an armor unit that was in nearly continuous combat for four straight weeks, Conroy and Martz tell the unvarnished story of what went right and what went deadly wrong in Iraq. Conroy and his soldiers were able to overcome supply shortages, intelligence failures, and miserable weather to battle their way into downtown Baghdad, a place where they were told they would never have to fight. Heavy Metal evaluates the Army’s performance, including its use of tactics that were developed during the war but for which the soldiers had never trained.

Through the exciting personal stories of the young troopers of Charlie Company - who experienced a very different war from what was seen back home on TV - Heavy Metal tells us much about the qualities of today’s American soldier, about twenty-first-century desert and urban warfare, and about how the Army should prepare to fight future wars.”

According to one reader of Heavy Metal: A Tank Company’s Battle to Baghdad, “Button-up and go cross-border into Iraq with Charlie Company. Martz and Conroy take you on one hell of an emotional ride. Simply put, this is a writing collaboration by two pro's - Martz, the embedded reporter and former Marine, with 20 plus years reporting from the world's hot spots and shooting wars for the AJC and Capt. Conroy, a 21st century Army Company Commander and the quintessential modern tank unit leader.

From Invasion to culmination of "Thunder Run's" 1 and 2 and the occupation of Baghdad, it's a true page turner. You will experience how the personnel of Charlie Company overcome re-supply of beans and bullets, relentless close quarter enemy engagements, equipment failures, bad Intel, weather of near biblical proportions and the taking of their first casualties. They deal with the stark reality of 21st century mechanized warfare where the main objective remains to kill people and break things, but they now do it with far greater velocity and precision. On the other hand you are reminded that modern armor tactics in open country or urban street to street has changed very little since Generals Guderian, Rommel, and Patton first employed them 60 plus years ago. Heavy Metal should be required study in all our service academies, military war colleges and civilian think tanks - it's that damn good!”