Fallujah has won the toss, and elected to RECEIVE!!! 
Posted on 11/06/2004 11:28:50 AM PST by Former Military Chick
The number of dead and wounded from the expected battle to retake insurgent-controlled Fallujah probably will reach levels not seen since Vietnam, a senior surgeon at the Marine camp outside Fallujah said Thursday.
Navy Cmdr. Lach Noyes said the hospital here is preparing to handle 25 severely injured soldiers a day, not counting walking wounded and the dead. The hospital has added two operating rooms, doubled its supplies, added a mortuary and stocked up on blood reserves. Doctors have set up a system of ambulance vehicles that will rush to the camp's gate to receive the dead and wounded so units can return to battle quickly.
The plans underscore the ferocity of the fight the U.S. military expects in Fallujah, a Sunni Muslim city about 35 miles west of Baghdad which has been under insurgent control since April. More than 1,120 U.S. soldiers and Marines have died in Iraq since the war began, more than 860 of those from hostile fire.
The deadliest month was April when fierce fighting killed 126 U.S. troops largely at Fallujah and Ramadi before a cease-fire virtually turned Fallujah over to the insurgents. Even then, the death toll was far below the worst month of Vietnam, April 1969, when the U.S. death toll was 543 at the height of American involvement there.
U.S. forces have been building up outside Fallujah for weeks in preparation for taking the city back, and many here believe the assault is likely to come soon.
Military officials say they expect U.S. troops will encounter not just fighters wielding AK-47s assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, but also heavy concentrations of mines, roadside bombs and possibly car bombs.
"We'll probably just see those in a lot better concentration in the city," said Maj. Jim West, an intelligence officer with 1st Marine Expeditionary Force.
West said he thinks there are some 4,000 to 5,000 fighters between Fallujah and nearby Ramadi, and they may try to draw troops into cramped urban areas in Fallujah that have been booby-trapped.
The toll in human suffering has already been grave.
Staff Sgt. Jason Benedict was on a convoy heading to the Fallujah camp last Saturday when a suicide bomber rammed a vehicle into the truck Benedict and his platoon mates were traveling on. A few minutes later, mortars and rifle fire rained down on the survivors. As he rolled toward the safety of a ditch, Benedict saw one of his friends crawling on all fours, with blood pouring from his face.
"You've got to expect casualties," said Benedict, 28. The fight for Fallujah, he said, "is overdue."
Eight Marines were killed in the bombing. Benedict is now recuperating in the field hospital with burns to his left hand and the side of his head.
In the six weeks Noyes has worked at the Fallujah camp, his team has operated on Marines with eyes gouged by shrapnel and limbs torn by explosion. A rocket strike outside the hospital killed two staff members and left deep pockmarks across the white concrete walls.
Noyes said some bodies have been so badly mangled that they had to be shipped home for DNA identification.
As Noyes was speaking Thursday, two Marines and a female American photojournalist were rushed into the hospital. A roadside bomb had hit their vehicle. The Marines had shrapnel cuts and burns, and the photographer's teeth had been pushed back into her mouth. The bomb was attached to a tank of gasoline, meant to create a fireball that didn't ignite.
Capt. Melissa Kaime, another Navy surgeon at the hospital, said that seeing trauma wounds in medical school is one thing; seeing them come off the battlefield is something altogether different.
"To treat a patient when (his) brain is coming out... ," she said, before her voice trailed off. "There are things that I will never understand. It's beyond my comprehension; a higher power will have to explain why these things have happened."
Sound Off...What do you think? Join the discussion.
Copyright 2004 Biloxi Sun Herald. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Not to make the assault on Fallujah political, but with the election and everything over (and the fact that citizens were told to leave), can't we just level the place from the air and move on? Doing so before the election may have hurt Bush, but that is obviously not an issue now.
I think Iraq/Allawi and we would be just fine with the smoldering remains and our troops wouldn't have to deal with it.
Then you loose Iraq.
Sending prayers for their safety and strength... God Speed!
Sit back and see where they want us to go... then bomb the hell out of that section of town. At a minimum, once we see where the traps are likely to be, we should destroy all roadside vehicles that could be bombs from the air... and bomb the streets where mines might be before we go in. We have a powerful Air Force, let's use it. I would rather spend $100M on bombs than risk any Marines unnecessarily.
they have $78 Million set aside to rebuild, I imagine that will build alot of mud huts, more than they deserve for holding out so long
Fallujah has won the toss, and elected to RECEIVE!!!
I agree. Turn the city into sand and fine gravel before a single soldier so much as stubs his toe.
All the more reason to bomb the place into gravel.
"10,000 Civilian Family Members of Terrorists are not equal to even 1 American Solider's life"
"Bombs Away"
Sponsored by M.O.A.B.--the 'Mother of All Bombs'
I was going to say the same thing. IIRC, it can easily carry over 100,000 lbs of bombs.
We've re-discovered this week that our Air Force's fighter jets have 20mm cannons...it's time for somebody besides New Jersians to discover this fact.
God bless our fighting men and women. I place their precious lives in His capable care, in Christ's name.
This is a good time to take a few moments out for prayer. God bless these brave men and women!
This coming fight is being compared to the Battle for Hue during the Tet Offensive.
I don't think there should be ANY survivors in Falluja... Those that remained - should be considered as one with the enemy..
The mission should be to destroy the enemy and ALL who stand with him....or near him.....and the buildings or Mosques they're hiding in or fightiing from...
The stench from their corpses should drift across all of the Sunni triangle, and let the bastards dance and pass out candy over that !
I'm tired of Marines dying to show compassion for these Islamanazi cockroaches....
I didn't see ANY humanity or compassion for the innocents slaughtered by these bastards, or beheaded on video...
They have EARNED a brutal, total, massive, red flag assault..
No quarter asked, and none given...
This is a time to defeat them ----- unconditionally..
Other Lunatic stronghold locations will watch carefully, and perhaps LEARN what it is to defy superior force and the democracy of Iraq..
Semper Fi
WW III was the Cold War. We are now engaged in WW IV.
Agreed on WW4. And we have the leader for the troops after the Tuesday election. My prayers are going up now for our brave soldier kids. Keep them safe.
"Why in the hell are we worried about a bunch of buildings?
Just blow the place to the ground and be done with it."
It doesn't work that way. You have to get in there and root them out. For historical perspective see: STALINGRAD
The Marines I know are up to the task...
US Marines of the 1st Division bow their heads during a prayer at their base outside Fallujah, Iraq (news - web sites), Saturday, Nov. 6 , 2004. More than 10,000 U.S. troops have taken positions around the rebel-controlled city of Fallujah, bolstering the U.S. Marine units expected to lead a joint Army-Marine assault on the city. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.