This operation was conducted in November and December 2004 in the Iraqi city of Fallujah. It was the second battle for Fallujah (Operation Phantom Fury) was one of the codewords of this operation. This operation was a joint US and Iraqi led operation. The major players were the 1st Marine Division, and The Fallujah Brigade of the Iraqi Army.

The control of the city had been given to the Iraqis after the first time that it was cleared of insurgents, however insurgents soon regained the city. There were thousands of insurgents in the city and things reached the breaking point when they kidnapped and killed American contractors and mutilated their bodies. Well that ripped it and they had to be dealt with.

Allied forces first blocked off the city to block off the escape of as many insurgents as they could and then began to use artillery and aircraft to bombard the city. The major fighting took place in the first nine days of the conflict but there was sporadic fighting until the end of December 2004. The operation was a huge success but there was some negative press. One press issue came up when a Marine shot a wounded insurgent but later investigation showed that the shooting was indeed justified.

These are the types of things that we use military rings to commemorate. Many returning soldiers and marines have chose to have the word Fallujah on one of the side panels of their custom military rings in order to help to tell the story of the job that they performed while in Iraq. Creating an Operation Iraqi Freedom Ring is an excellent way to document the story of your service.