Sgt. Jason Stadel
2nd BCT, 3rd Inf. Div. PAO
FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq – Acting on a tip from Concerned Local Citizens, Coalition Forces discovered a weapons cache in the neighborhood of Madyriah Nov. 30.
Soldiers from Battery B, 1st Battalion, 9th Field Artillery, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division conducted a foot patrol from Patrol Base W-1 to investigate numerous possible cache sites gained from intelligence provided by CLCs.
After finding no weapons at the first site, the Soldiers began to dig at the second site and found rocket-propelled grenades, 10 boxes of DSHKA rounds and a cylinder improvised explosive device of unknown origin that was approximately eight feet in length.
An explosive ordnance disposal team was called to the sight to conduct a controlled detonation of the munitions.
This is the third large cache found by Battery B in November. After the mission 1st Lt. Blake Faller, from Long Island, N.Y., said that finding the caches will help to secure Madyriah against al-Qaida in Iraq.
"We're taking all this stuff away from them and denying them the use of their ammunition," Faller said. "Al-Qaida doesn't own this area anymore."
In addition to finding the weapons cache during the last week of November, Battery B also found and destroyed two houses rigged as booby traps.