On a serious note.

[_BiB_]

Here's to hoping that the innocents have left town, and that our soldiers and marines are as well trained as I think they are.

 

A lot of people are going to die this week. This will be a bloodbath. Be prepared.

[Thailog80]

God Bless our troops.

 

Time to kick ass BIB.

[_BiB_]

God Bless our troops.

 

Time to kick ass BIB.

104989[/snapback]

 

Long time coming. This should have been handled by July 2003. It's going to be much, much worse now.

 

Buh bye, Fallujah. It's been real.

 

Shame, it didn't have to be this way.

[Campy]

Here's to hoping that the innocents have left town, and that our soldiers and marines are as well trained as I think they are.

 

A lot of people are going to die this week. This will be a bloodbath. Be prepared.

104982[/snapback]

I read we have 10,000 troops in position around the city. I also read where they anticipate booby traps, ambushes, suicide bombers, and being on the recieving end of RPGs fired in close quarters.

 

But do we know how many bad guys there are in Fallujah?

[GG]

Long time coming. This should have been handled by July 2003. It's going to be much, much worse now.

 

Buh bye, Fallujah. It's been real.

 

Shame, it didn't have to be this way.

105001[/snapback]

 

I'm also hopeful that one of the reasons it has taken this long is that hopefully we have Iraqis inside the city ready to spring into action.

[_BiB_]

I read we have 10,000 troops in position around the city.  I also read where they anticipate booby traps, ambushes, suicide bombers, and being on the recieving end of RPGs fired in close quarters. 

 

But do we know how many bad guys there are in Fallujah?

105002[/snapback]

 

There is no, absolutely no combat worse than urban. Because of the nature of the fighting, they are all going to be treated as bad guys. The gloves are coming off, and it's not going to be pretty. Semper Fi, fellas.

[Campy]

This can't help:

 

 

NEAR FALLUJA, Iraq (CNN) -- A company commander of the Iraqi security forces who received a full briefing on the expected Falluja assault is missing from a military base where U.S. and Iraqi troops are preparing for the possible operation.

 

The captain, a Kurd with no known ties to the Sunni city of Falluja, is thought to have taken notes from the battle briefing late Thursday. U.S. Marines and his fellow Iraqi officers found no sign of him Friday morning, except for his uniform and a weapon on his cot.

 

Marines are concerned that the information he knows could be passed along to insurgents. U.S. military sources believe insurgents have friends in the military and government.

 

 

Full article: http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/11/06/...tain/index.html

[VabeachBledsoefan]

I read we have 10,000 troops in position around the city.  I also read where they anticipate booby traps, ambushes, suicide bombers, and being on the recieving end of RPGs fired in close quarters. 

 

But do we know how many bad guys there are in Fallujah?

105002[/snapback]

my question is...are our young fighting forces trained properly to face the insurgent tactics...its like being in jungles of Vietnam....God speed to those boys

[Campy]

There is no, absolutely no combat worse than urban. Because of the nature of the fighting, they are all going to be treated as bad guys. The gloves are coming off, and it's not going to be pretty. Semper Fi, fellas.

105016[/snapback]

About a year ago I stumbled upon an online version of the Army's Urban Battlefield Maneuvers (or some similarly named manual, I don't recall the exact name). It covered everything from points of fire, covering fire, strategies for clearing rooms, bounding, and even hopping over cellar windows so you don't get your ankles blown off.

 

Just reading it kinda' freaked me out...

[VabeachBledsoefan]

I'm also hopeful that one of the reasons it has taken this long is that hopefully we have Iraqis inside the city ready to spring into action.

105007[/snapback]

I simply put no hope in Iraqi forces doing much of anything to assist us...Let my Navy boys lob some cruise missiles in there

[KD in CA]

About a year ago I stumbled upon an online version of the Army's Urban Battlefield Maneuvers (or some similarly named manual, I don't recall the exact name).  It covered everything from points of fire, covering fire, strategies for clearing rooms, bounding, and even hopping over cellar windows so you don't get your ankles blown off. 

 

Just reading it kinda' freaked me out...

105030[/snapback]

 

 

That sounds like a heavy load. God Bless our troops.

[VabeachBledsoefan]

About a year ago I stumbled upon an online version of the Army's Urban Battlefield Maneuvers (or some similarly named manual, I don't recall the exact name).  It covered everything from points of fire, covering fire, strategies for clearing rooms, bounding, and even hopping over cellar windows so you don't get your ankles blown off. 

 

Just reading it kinda' freaked me out...

105030[/snapback]

Stop stumbling...give you wife a little man butter instead of researching Bill Murray and his Urban Assault Vehicle

"oh no" yeah, "oh no, No John.....I'll drive"

[blzrul]

This can't help:

Full article: http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/11/06/...tain/index.html

105021[/snapback]

I've heard they were expecting something like this. I think that a lot of what we've been seeing in terms of the preparations and interviews with the troops, etc. is big PR meant for the insurgents, not for us. And our guys knew there was a good chance they'd be inflitrated. Maybe they were smart enough to identify and feed this guy bogus info. I sure hope so.

[_BiB_]

my question is...are our young  fighting forces trained properly to face the insurgent tactics...its like being in jungles of Vietnam....God speed to those boys

105029[/snapback]

 

There has been a lot more emphasis put into training for these street to street things. Most major bases have some sort of an urban training facility, basically small towns where one can practice the techniques. But training for it and doing it are two different things. The bad guys are on their turf. They know every block, every building, every brick.

 

They have been attacking from schools, hospitals and mosques. Last time, our guys tried to wear the white hats. This time, if they are taking fire said building goes away with everyone in it. Like I said, get ready for whatever comes out in the media because it could get pretty ugly.

[GG]

I've heard they were expecting something like this.  I think that a lot of what we've been seeing in terms of the preparations and interviews with the troops, etc. is big PR meant for the insurgents, not for us.  And our guys knew there was a good chance they'd be inflitrated.  Maybe they were smart enough to identify and feed this guy bogus info.  I sure hope so.

105049[/snapback]

 

Not a wisecrack, but it could stand to reason if CNN is reporting it, it could very well be a plant by US.

[Campy]

my question is...are our young  fighting forces trained properly to face the insurgent tactics...its like being in jungles of Vietnam....God speed to those boys

105029[/snapback]

They're probably trained as well as they can be, but I imagine that all the training in the world couldn't be enough. I've read enough about urban combat (WWII to current) to know that it's considered the most dangerous, moreso than even Vietnamese jungles.

 

We will suffer heavy casualties. Sadly, by the nature of urban combat operations it is unavoidable.

[VabeachBledsoefan]

There has been a lot more emphasis put into training for these street to street things. Most major bases have some sort of an urban training facility, basically small towns where one can practice the techniques. But training for it and doing it are two different things. The bad guys are on their turf. They know every block, every building, every brick.

 

They have been attacking from schools, hospitals and mosques. Last time, our guys tried to wear the white hats. This time, if they are taking fire said building goes away with everyone in it. Like I said, get ready for whatever comes out in the media because it could get pretty ugly.

105052[/snapback]

BiB...i know we have training facilities but that is a simulated scenarios....its so much different in the field/

[blzrul]

Not a wisecrack, but it could stand to reason if CNN is reporting it, it could very well be a plant by US.

105053[/snapback]

That's what I am hoping. It's just hard to believe after they've miscalculated and underestimated and just plain screwed up (Rummy and the gang, not our troops) that they'd be smart enough to do that.

 

But, hope springs eternal.

 

Yesterday I heard an interview with a kid who sounded like he couldn't possibly have started shaving daily. He said "yeah, I am scared, because I've never been in a battle before and I don't know how I'll do, but I hope it'll be ok". And of course I don't blame him one bit ... but I thought, why possibly would they air that? To give the bad guys succor, or to mess with their heads?

 

Or maybe it just is what it is.

 

My friend's son is there. I'm just gonna light candles and pray.

[Campy]

I'm just gonna light candles and pray.

105070[/snapback]

Methinks there will be alot of that going on.

[DC Tom]

That's what I am hoping.  It's just hard to believe after they've miscalculated and underestimated and just plain screwed up (Rummy and the gang, not our troops) that they'd be smart enough to do that.

 

But, hope springs eternal.

 

Yesterday I heard an interview with a kid who sounded like he couldn't possibly have started shaving daily.  He said "yeah, I am scared, because I've never been in a battle before and I don't know how I'll do, but I hope it'll be ok".  And of course I don't blame him one bit ... but I thought, why possibly would they air that?  To give the bad guys succor, or to mess with their heads?

 

Or maybe it just is what it is.

 

My friend's son is there.  I'm just gonna light candles and pray.

105070[/snapback]

 

I'll light some for him too.

 

Of all the battlefields I've read about in WWII...if someone asked me which one I'd least like to step back in time and fight in, I'd say Stalingrad. Cold, wet, hungry...and both armies combined probably ran over 70% casualties over the course of that campaign. Urban combat deemphasizes training in favor of sheer mass. Frankly, it sucks, big-time.