IU student veteran fears for comrades in major offensive

With thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops assaulting the Iraqi insurgent hotspot of Fallujah, few people at IU have the same perspective as junior Brian Nordhoff. Nordhoff served in south-central Iraq as a corporal in the Detachment Communications Company of the Headquarters Battalion of the Fourth Marine Division. He said Fallujah had a reputation of being a dangerous city.\n"I just know that it's always mentioned that it's one of the worst cities," he said. "It's one of the key cities where terrorists are located."\nNordhoff said he knows his unit is currently somewhere near Fallujah and that it, and some of his good friends, might be involved in the assault on the city.\n"I wish I was there with them right now," he said. "I'm glad I'm not with them just to wait around and be mortared. But when we have certain missions that we go on, I wish I was there with my guys."\nNordhoff said Marines are taught that urban combat, which troops will see in Fallujah, often has a 75 percent casualty rate. \n"My guess is that they are probably a little worried," he said. "They're probably a little excited to see some real action, you know, instead of waiting for mortars to come in and things like that."\nThe U.S.-led assault on the city will bring the fight to the Iraqi insurgents, rather than the other-way around, Nordhoff said. \n"All we do right now is ride on in convoys and wait until we get hit by the enemy and then fight back," he said. "(The assault on Fallujah) is actually going in and finding the enemy and eliminating them."\nDespite seeing this operation as necessary, Nordhoff still has anxiety for his comrades still in Iraq.\n"I pray for them every night," he said.\n-- Contact Nation & World editor Michael Zennie at mzennie@indiana.edu.