It was very challenging for Marines going house to house to house to identify who was left. The command sergeant major (CSM) of 2-2 Infantry exited his vehicle to help strategically park in front of the new operations house when an enemy sniper killed him, causing a ripple effect in leadership. It is that military force alone is not enough for lasting victory. A bullet from the sniper hit him in the back, below his flak jacket, as he jumped into the stairwell. CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. It has been a decade since Marines fought for their lives and their brothers-in-arms in Iraq's bloodiest battles, which would spark a turning point in the eight-year war. A second would go up that road to move into the complex of government buildings in the centre. By the time of the battle, a city of normally 400,000 people was just 10 percent of that, determined to be the elderly, the infirm and the enemy. The Second Battle of Fallujah - code-named Operation Al-Fajr and Operation Phantom Fury - as part of a joint American, Iraqi, and British offensive. But most of the people had left Falluja. Outside, a long, slow military build-up began. The image of a city packed with non-combatants being pounded with artillery and white phosphorous was wrong. The U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (MRDC) has learned valuable lessons by studying the Second Battle of Fallujah, which took place in Iraq . Now a crisis trainer for a Virginia school district, Edwards has been on a mission to bring Phantom Fury vets back together. Thirty-five members of 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, have died by suicide since 2003. Falluja was Sunni - and it had done well under Saddam Hussein's Baath. What sorts of changes did you start to see? Subscriber sign . Faced with a determined enemy that would often boobytrap and mine the buildings they were in, the battalion ramped up its use of air support, and the ensuing barrage earned the nickname Hurricane Isabel.. U.S. Forces Battle Into Heart of Fallujah - The Washington Post Sign up for our newsletter and receive the mighty updates! Bellavia left the service after six years in 2005 as a staff sergeant. They're forever linked by gritty combat and heroism -- as well as terrible memories and loss. Also called Operation Al-Fajr or Operation Phantom Fury, the Second Battle of Fallujah took place from November 7, 2004 until December 23, 2004. Years later, that is still one of my most memorable quotes of the Iraq war. As night fell, they fired rocket propelled grenades that made yellow streaks as they sailed over the house. Pell was hit 11 times and fell two stories onto a nearby rooftop. Seeing that Smith was being crushed under the incredible weight of the up-armored Humvee, 1st Sgt.
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