Rakkasan Military Transition Team works with Iraqi Army to locate weapons cache

Courtesy Photo | Soldiers of the Rakkasan Miltitary Transition Team and the Iraqi Army stand beside a weapons cache unearthed in a farmer's field near Samarra on Jan. 3rd.  

SALAH AH DIN PROVINCE, IRAQ

01.09.2006

Courtesy Story

133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

Spc. William Jones
133rd Mobile Affairs Detachment

SALAH AH DIN PROVINCE, Iraq (January 6, 2006) " Soldiers in the Iraqi Army continue to play a greater role in seizing power once held by anti-Iraqi forces in an area northeast of Baghdad.

On January 4th, the 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army and the Rakkasans" Military Transition Team (MiTT) from 3rd Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team unearthed several weapons and munitions in a joint search of a farm in the city of Hawish.

The Soldiers were dispatched to the area on a tip from a local resident. Once on the scene, two individuals were detained and made to unearth the weapons cache.

The search uncovered several artillery rounds, land mines and rocket-propelled grenades. U.S. Army explosive experts were called to the scene to supervise the destruction of the cache.

The Soldiers of the 2nd Battalion began their training early last year and have been working with 101st Airborne Divisions" Rakkasans since their arrival last fall. The Iraqi Soldiers" duties are primarily manning security checkpoints near major cities and providing quick reaction forces as needed. The goal of the MiTT team is to aid the Iraqis as they begin to assume more security responsibilities.

First Lt. Matthew Upperman, a member of the MiTT team said, 'the Iraqi Soldiers continue to show their professionalism and have come a long way in a relatively short period of time."

• Date Taken: 01.09.2006
• Date Posted: 01.09.2006 11:01
• Story ID: 5026
• Location: SALAH AH DIN PROVINCE, IQ