IA, CF Soldiers destroy suspected insurgent training site

Photo By Spc. Daniel Bearl | Eddie, a dog trained to sniff out explosives and ammunitions, helps coalition and Iraqi soldiers search an area for a suspected weapons cache north of Baghdad.  

TIKRIT, IRAQ

01.31.2007

Courtesy Story

25th Combat Aviation Brigade

By Spc. Daniel Bearl
25th Combat Aviation Brigade

TIKRIT, Iraq – In a roar of rotor blades and a blast of small rocks and dust, UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters dropped a group of Iraqi and Coalition Soldiers in a damp field in Northern Iraq.

As the aircraft pulled away back into the sky, the troops paused a moment as the dust and noise settled before fanning out over the rutted patch of earth.

The Iraqi soldiers and Paratroopers from Company D, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, with support from helicopters from 1st Battalion, 150th Aviation Regiment, West Virginia Army National Guard, attached to the 2nd Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, immediately set up defensive positions and began scouring the area.

"It's a joint mission with IA soldiers checking out a possible cache," said Sgt. 1st Class Chad Eske, the platoon sergeant with 3rd Platoon, Company D, 2-505 PIR, 82nd Airborne Division. "Basically whatever we find we'll blow in place and do some tactical questioning with residents in the area."

The mission, dubbed Operation Clean Sweep, was in response to a report of a suspicious area seen by air crew members as they flew missions over the area. Littering the site were piles of empty ammunitions tubes and boxes.

The day would prove fruitful as the Iraqi and Coalition Soldiers would ultimately discover an apparent insurgent training site complete with mortar tubes, rocket propelled grenade launchers, blank ammunition rounds and training boards covered in diagrams explaining how to use various weapons.

The find was located in and around a small group of brick-and-mud buildings near the landing site.

While the Soldiers dug through piles of discarded ammunition cases, a specialized dog, Eddie, explored the site hunting diligently for any additional ammunition or explosives. His trainer, Staff Sgt. Jason L. Robbins, followed closely, directing and rewarding the canine.

"I just enjoy being able to work with the dog, get him out here and find the stuff and get it out of here so it can't injure other Soldiers," Robbins said.

After collecting, counting and photographing their find, the Soldiers piled it all into the huts and radioed back to their base for permission to destroy them.

Once authorization was granted, ordnance disposal specialists went to work preparing explosives to destroy the weapons, training aids and buildings.

As the explosives were being set up, the Soldiers cleared the area around the building, ensuring that no one would be hurt in the explosion.

The mission came to a close as the charges went off destroying the buildings and everything inside and sending a plume of dust and debris high into the air.

With their job complete, the troops waited for the Blackhawks to return to take them back to base.

As a bonus, one of the helicopter crew members of one of the aircraft was Sgt. Matt Youst, one of the Soldiers who originally reported the suspicious site while flying over the area earlier that week.

"It was kind of nice to be able to have one of the Soldiers who discovered the site be on board the aircraft while we went out and did the mission," said Chief Warrant Officer Mark Prosser, a pilot who flew on the mission. "The thing I enjoy most about this type of mission is we're going to try to destroy munitions that could possibly be used for IEDs later on. So, the ground troops that we're supporting are actually going out there to blow up weapons caches that could be used against them later on."

• Date Taken: 01.31.2007
• Date Posted: 01.31.2007 10:19
• Story ID: 9014
• Location: TIKRIT, IQ