Sgt. Kevin Bromley
100th MPAD
April 25, 2005
Quick Sweep
TAJI, Iraq -- 3rd Brigade First Armored Division's mission was "simple," ferret out any and all insurgents in the western region of their area of operations.
"This area harbors terrorists who think that they can operate with impunity, and we are going to show them that they cannot," said Col. David Bishop, 3rd brigade's commander.
Intelligence gathering began several weeks earlier to define the brigade's objectives and the brigade's leadership found an opportunity to begin the operation a few days ahead of schedule. Operation Quick Sweep was a deliberate cordon and search of a large rural area, northwest of Baghdad.
"Our mission will leave no dwelling, vehicle, or hiding place unsearched," said Bishop
3rd Brigade, 1st Armored division cut a broad swath through the rural area west of Taji, pushing into areas that have shown significant insurgent activities since the brigade assumed authority over the region.
The operation yielded many successes, including the detainment of several individuals identified insurgents, several weapons caches, and one huge stash of munitions.
In the early morning hours, Pfc. Chris Tingle was patrolling a gravel quarry in 1st Battalion, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment's area.
The quarry is an infantryman's dream, said Bishop, a treacherous series of deep canyons and pits with numerous hiding places. It is here that Tingle found a large weapons cache.
Tingle saw some wooden crates full of ammunition and notified his chain of command.
"I hope we catch the guys that were going to use this," said Tingle.
When members of 2nd Platoon, B Company, 70th Engineers arrived they immediately set to excavating the site.
As Sgt. Jason Faras, Pfc. Leslie Thompson, and Pfc. Harold Kuykendal began digging and found several large caliber munitions.
"It's like Christmas down here," said Kuykendal. "Things just keep coming up." He exclaimed.
As they continued to unearth more and more munitions, the 70th Engineer Battalion knew they had something big. So they brought in extra Soldiers to continue the sweep.
"This is an excellent findâ?¦these munitions won't be used to build any IED's" said Lt. Col. Anthony Wright, commander of the 70th Engineer Battalion.
The 70th Engineers pulled almost three thousand pounds of large caliber explosive munitions out of the weapons cache in six hours of grueling hot work. The staff and soldiers of 3rd Brigade agree that Operation Quick Sweep was a success.
"It's clear to me that yesterday's find saved an untold number of U.S. and Coalition Forces' lives," said Command Sgt. Maj. Anthony Cady of 70th Engineers.
"They pulled one round out every 20 seconds for about two and a half hoursâ?¦It was unbelievable," said Cady.