Combat· Iraq War (Op IRAQI FREEDOM)
Government Center Seized
The seizure of the government center was a significant objective in the drive through Fallujah during the Second Battle, the capture of the civic heart of the city as the assault forces pushed south through the urban terrain.
Taking the government complex carried both tactical and symbolic weight, denying the insurgents a central strongpoint and marking the Coalition's reassertion of control over the seat of the city's administration. The Marines fought through to secure the center amid the broader clearance of the surrounding districts, reducing the resistance that defended the approaches to it. Its capture was one of the milestones in the methodical advance through Fallujah, a visible sign of progress in the long battle to wrest the city from the insurgency. Holding the government center anchored the Coalition's grip on the cleared portion of the city as the assault continued toward the remaining insurgent-held districts to the south.
Record no. 755