Brian Steidle

Brian Steidle

Brian Steidle (born 1976) is a former Marine Corps captain, military and security operations expert, and author who had worked on publicizing the Darfur conflict in Sudan. Steidle wrote a book, The Devil Came on Horseback, about his experience, which was turned into a documentary film that premiered at Sundance in 2007.

Steidle has shared his experience in Darfur with heads of state in the United States and abroad, addressed the U.S. Congress and the United Nations, and serves both as lecturer and advisor to several non-government organizations regarding their humanitarian efforts in Africa and other nations.

Prior to his work in Darfur, Steidle, the son of a high-ranking U.S. Navy officer, served in the United States Marine Corps from 1999 to 2003 as an infantry officer, completing his service with the rank of Captain.

After his service he took a contract in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan working for the Joint Military Mission, a collaboration between 12 European nations, the US and Canada, monitoring the North-South Cease fire, now Comprehensive Peace Agreement. Starting as a team leader of a four-man team directly negotiating tense situations, he advanced to a sector commander and on to the Senior Operations Officer for the entire Joint Military Mission within 7 months.

In September 2004, at the age of 27, Steidle accepted an assignment as one of three U.S. military observers for the African Union in the Darfur region of western Sudan. His role was to monitor the cease fire between the two main rebel groups and the Sudanese Government. Additional roles included advising the AU on US personnel, operations, logistics and intelligence. Steidle witnessed the murders of thousands of people, but was not permitted to intervene, though he photographed what he witnessed. After his 13-month contract in Sudan was completed, Brian resigned the position and returned to the United States.

Steidle returned to Chad in 2006 to further document and publicize the events taking place there. Steidle wrote of his experiences in Darfur in his book The Devil Came on Horseback, a reference to the Janjaweed faction that has been responsible for much of the genocide in Darfur. An award-winning and Emmy nominated documentary film of the same title was also produced about Steidle's story. The film is a Break Thru Films production in association with Global Grassroots and Three Generations. The film received significant charitable funding including grants from the Save Darfur Coalition and the Sundance Film Festival. Steidle appears throughout the film, narrating what he witnessed and interviewing survivors in Darfur.

...
Wikipedia