3rd HBCT continues to find caches in the Mada'in Qada

Photo By Staff Sgt. James Hutto | Soldiers in the 789th Ordnance Company (EOD), from Ft. Benning, Ga., lay out an insurgent cache for controlled detonation at a remote location near al Arifyah, a small village southeast of Baghdad.  

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, IRAQ

02.05.2008

Story by Spc. James Hutto 

3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – Three separate caches were found and destroyed by Soldiers assigned to the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team in Mada'in Qada Feb. 2.

Soldiers from the 789th Ordnance Company (EOD), from Ft. Benning, Ga., currently attached to the 3rd HBCT, were on hand to dispose of all three caches.

Munitions were discovered by Soldiers from Company D, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, currently attached to the 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, in a cache site near al Arifyah, a small village southeast of Baghdad.

The 3rd National Police Battalion provided security for the cache until EOD arrived to dispose of it.

"This was a joint effort by both Coalition Forces and Iraqi Security Forces," said Spc. Bobby Oakley, from Newport News, Va., with Company D. "Both elements provided overwatch on the cache while awaiting EOD's assistance. This demonstrates the National Police's ability and willingness to coordinate efforts to secure the area."

EOD performed a controlled detonation at the site to reduce the cache size and transported the remaining ordnance to a disposal site.

The cache consisted of 13 122 mm Russian high-explosive projectiles, 31 80 mm Russian smoke grenades, nine 500-pound bombs of unknown origin, six 57 mm Iraqi high-explosive projectiles and two 82 mm Chinese mortar rounds.

Hours later, Soldiers in Battery A, 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery were directed to a cache location near Sabbah Nissan by the Sons of Iraq.

"The Sons of Iraq and the Sabbah Nissan Council continue to provide tips concerning hidden weapons caches," said Capt. Chas Cannon, from Moultrie, Ga., commander of Battery A. "This is the tenth cache of weapons that they have led Coalition Forces to since the inception of the program. These efforts continue to remove potentially dangerous munitions from towns and villages and make it safer for both the local Iraqi people and Coalition Forces."

During a four-hour period, Company A, 1-15 Inf. Regt. Soldiers working in tandem with the Sons of Iraq, located and neutralized four improvised explosive devices, near Zelig, a small village near Salman Pak.

Maj. David Fivecoat, from Delaware, Ohio, 3rd HBCT operations officer, is pleased with progress in the Mada'in Qada.

"Over a two-day period, the Sons of Iraq, National Police and the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team worked together to eliminate IEDs and caches from their neighborhoods," Fivecoat said. "These small events are another indicator of the progress in the security situation in the Qada. Iraqis are increasingly working to secure themselves."

The 1-10th FA, 3-1st Cav. Regt. and 1-15th Inf. Regt. are assigned to the 3rd HBCT, 3rd Infantry Division, from Fort Benning, Ga., and have been deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since March 2007.

• Date Taken: 02.05.2008
• Date Posted: 02.05.2008 15:31
• Story ID: 16068
• Location: FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, IQ