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By Sgt. Kevin Stabinsky
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division
FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq – Once a haven for insurgents to conduct operations and store weapons, the community of Maderiyah lived in fear. Now, citizens have turned against insurgents and are providing intelligence to secure their community, leading to the recovery of numerous weapons caches.
On, May 16, citizens led Soldiers from Battery B, 1st Battalion, 9th Field Artillery, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, to three separate caches.
"Local Iraqis are tired of the violence and fighting ... and have come to see the benefits of assisting the coalition and (Iraqi army's) efforts in their community," said Lt. Col. R.J. Lillibridge, commander of 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, attached to 2nd BCT, 3rd Inf. Div. "The benefits of assisting the coalition and government of Iraq clearly outweigh any benefit to supporting or tolerating the insurgency."
The first cache consisted of four rocket propelled grenades, six RPG warheads and six RPG boosters.
The second cache contained one box of ammunition, one 73-round belt, 100 belt-linked rounds of 7.62 ammunition, 250 loose pistol rounds, six SKS magazines, four AK-47 magazines, two AK-47 butt stocks, two bayonets, three flasks of gunpowder, two spools of wire and one rifle with bayonet.
The third cache contained 500 rounds of 9 mm ammunition and 1,000 rounds of PKC machine-gun ammunition.
All the munitions in the caches were serviceable, said Capt. Richard Aaron, commander of Battery B, 1-9th FA.
The three caches were discovered within a five-kilometer radius of each other and the contents were taken to Patrol Base W-1 for disposal.
The same day, a member of the local Sons of Iraq brought a cache to Soldiers stationed at Patrol Base W-1. That cache consisted of an IA uniform, a 57 mm projectile, a bag of TNT, a roll of wire, 200 anti-personnel and anti-vehicle pressure plates, a night vision scope, a rifle scope and ten CDs.
All items were secured by an explosive ordnance disposal team for disposal.
The four caches discovered, May 16, are the latest finds across the area. Over the past week, Battery B Soldiers have removed 13 caches from the Maderiyah area.
"The recovery and removal of these caches from the area helps to continue the ever-increasing security and stability in the area, as it removes the opportunity or potential to attack coalition and IA forces from the area," Lillibridge said.
The cooperation of reporting caches continues to build trust between coalition forces and local residents, added Aaron, a native of Middleboro, Mass.
| Date Taken: | 05.20.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 05.20.2008 15:57 |
| Story ID: | 19636 |
| Location: | ISKANDARIYAH, IQ |
| Web Views: | 177 |
| Downloads: | 156 |
This work, Citizens lead Soldiers to three caches, by SGT Kevin Stabinsky, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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