Battle for Fallujah
	Gator battery pulls out the big guns in Fallujah By Spc. Erik LeDrew, 122nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment FALLUJAH, Iraq -- While the troopers of 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment and the Marines of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Division were on the ground in Fallujah, it was the Soldiers of A “Gator” Battery, 3rd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division who supported them with artillery fire. “Our mission is to provide artillery support for the units in Fallujah,” said Sgt. Andre Hall, a fire section chief with Gator Battery and a Hopkinsville, Ky., native. Their fire-missions in Fallujah varied, but the battery was equipped to handle whatever came their way. “We use Paladin Howitzers which are capable of firing [high-explosive], illumination and smoke rounds,” said Capt. Michael Burgoyne, Battery A commander, 3-82 FA. Using their Paladins, which are essentially mobile canons, Gator Battery was able to provide whatever artillery support was required. At first, such support mostly consisted of returning fire against insurgents mortaring and attempting to mortar U.S. military bases around the city of Fallujah. “We’ve been providing counter-fire against anti-Iraqi insurgents, which is a strictly responsive mission,” Burgoyne, who hails from St. Charles, Mo., said. “But we also have been providing direct- fire support for the guys [engaged in combat] with the enemy.” When a mission comes down the pipeline, Hall said, it doesn’t always go through because of the possibility of civilian bystanders or friendly forces that are too close to the impact site. “We receive our missions from the Fire Direction Center, lay down the position they give us, and wait for the call to fire,” Hall said. Although Gator Battery’s job became considerably busy after the ground battle in Fallujah began, only one in every four missions was actually given the go-ahead for fire during their first few days at Camp Fallujah. The battery arrived at Camp Fallujah in the beginning of November with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, to aid the over-taxed U.S. Marine Corps artillery units -- who use standard Howitzers, not Paladins -- already stationed there. “The Marine artillery has been engaging the enemy, but they needed extra support,” Burgoyne said. “So that’s why our battery came with the [2nd BCT] from Baghdad.” Gator Battery was the only artillery unit from 3-82 FA that accompanied the 2nd BCT to Fallujah, leaving their old sector in southwestern Baghdad behind. “In Baghdad, we were doing patrols and humanitarian missions,” Burgoyne said, “But this mission here is the most important my unit has yet done in the 10 months we’ve been in Iraq. [Insurgents] cannot be allowed to strike with impunity on a people who are trying to better their own lives, and my Soldiers understand that.”
		Abizaid: Enemy Cannot Militarily Defeat Coalition By John Valceanu, American Forces Press Service DOHA, Qatar, Nov. 16, 2004 -- Reflecting on what he had just seen over a three-day visit to Iraq, U.S. Army Gen. John Abizaid said today that the enemy cannot militarily defeat U.S. troops or coalition forces fighting to free the country of terrorists and insurgents. "They can't beat us. They can only break our will. They can cause us to get tired and to go home," Abizaid said. "And we just need to make sure they understand that they are going to go down before we get tired." The battle of Fallujah waged over the past couple of weeks demonstrated the power of coalition forces, Abizaid said. "Unfortunately for us, many of the top-tier people like Zarqawi decided that they didn't have the courage to stand and fight. They had the courage for other people to fight, but not for themselves," Abizaid said. "A lot of the fighters who were there (in Fallujah) were left there without any help or direction from their leaders." The fighters in Fallujah were unable to stand up to the joint efforts of the U.S. Marines, Army and Air Force, which brought overwhelming force against them, according to Abizaid. He estimated that probably more than 1,000 enemy fighters were killed and an additional 1,000 were taken prisoner. "It's a very difficult blow for the Salifist extremist groups that have been operating in there to recover from," Abizaid said. "But we are also under no illusions. We know that the enemy will continue to fight. We anticipate that Fallujah is not going to be completely calm for a while. There are people who have decided to stay and fight until they are killed, and we haven't found them yet." Abizaid praised the efforts of Marines to prevent collateral damage during the battle. "The Marines have done a magnificent job in protecting civilian population centers to the extent that they could, and they have been about as accurate and precise as any force can be given the nature of that type of fighting," Abizaid said. "I'm very proud of the work that was done by our troops." Regarding recent reports and video footage of a Marine allegedly shooting a wounded, unarmed insurgent, Abizaid said, "We have to be careful about jumping to any conclusions. We need to do an investigation. We need to understand that we have at our disposal the Uniform Code of Military Justice to deal with any misconduct, should in fact there be any misconduct, and we'll just have to see what the investigation shows." The shooting incident involving the Marine cannot be compared with, and stands "in stark contrast," to what coalition troops and Iraqi forces found in Fallujah. "We found centers of torture, we found civilians that had been clearly executed by insurgent forces, we found bomb- making sites for the various (improvised explosive devices) that had been used against us," Abizaid said. "Clearly the amount of terror that was going on in Fallujah was absolutely out of control." Many enemy fighters who fought in Fallujah may have thought their behavior was governed by the Koran, Abizaid said, adding that simply isn't true. "There's nothing in the Koran that allows for suicide bombers, that allows for the beheading of hostages, that allows for the murder of countless innocent people that (are) the result of actions that have been planned and executed from Fallujah," Abizaid said. Most people in Iraq and in the rest of the Arab world do not share the views of the extremists, and they hope to be freed of their intimidation and terrorist tactics, according to Abizaid. "They do not want to live in a world dominated by bin Laden or dominated by Zarqawi," Abizaid said. "They want to live in a world just like the world that we live in, governed by their own laws and their own customs, but one in which their children can grow up safe and sound and have an opportunity to prosper." The Iraqi people will have the opportunity to enjoy a safe, secure future when they move ahead with the Iraqi government, hold elections and create a constitution, Abizaid said. This will be accomplished with the help of "courageous Iraqi patriots" who are fighting every day against the extremists, he said. It is important for the American people and the Iraqis to understand, however, that the situation will not be fixed "overnight." It will take time to train and equip enough police and military forces, and to find brave, committed individuals to lead them. "What we need to have is patience," Abizaid said. "Patience and willpower."
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