4TH ID SECURES LARGE CACHES OF ROCKETS AND MUNITIONS

CENTCOM ^ | Nov. 11, 2003

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

NEWS RELEASE HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND 7115 South Boundary Boulevard MacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101 Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894

November 11, 2003
Release Number: 03-11-10


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


4TH ID SECURES LARGE CACHES OF ROCKETS AND MUNITIONS

TIKRIT, Iraq – In three separate incidents on Nov. 9, Task Force Ironhorse soldiers located large weapons caches that had the potential to be used against innocent Iraqis and Caoalition forces.

The 3rd Battalion, 66th Armor soldiers received a report from an AH-64 helicopter that identified a location south of Baji as a possible weapons cache site. They went to the site and discovered storage structures that contained approximately 800 BM 21 rockets. The site was secured and the rockets are scheduled for destruction.

In another find, approximately 150 rockets were confiscated from a cache located north of Tikrit.

An additional weapons cache of 1,500 rounds of 155mm artillery shells was located north of Balad. This discovery was the result of an observation made by crewmen in a 1st Battalion, 10th Cavalry Regiment helicopter. The munitions will be destroyed in place.

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

The 3rd Battalion, 66th Armor soldiers received a report from an AH-64 helicopter that identified a location south of Baji as a possible weapons cache site. They went to the site and discovered storage structures that contained approximately 800 BM 21 rockets.

~~~
Keep praying. Someone's looking out for our guys daily in Iraq.
~~~

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[r9etb]

approximately 800 BM 21 rockets

As the name makes clear, those weren't weapons, they were extra strength enemas. Just another proof that Bush has no plan...!

[eastsider]

Yee-haw!!!

[mewzilla]

Nice haul. Great job. They should have a public demolition of the site for the locals. Drop something big and noisy on the cache. Make a really loud boom. Maybe it would leave an impression.

[dts32041]

The amount of ordinance we are finding is unbelievable, sounds like the reports coming out of the Parrots Beak, in 1970.

This is all over the country though.

No wonder IED's keep popping up.

[ArrogantBustard]

1,500 rounds of 155mm artillery shells was located north of Balad ... The munitions will be destroyed in place.

That's gonna be a helluva bang, when it goes...

[Cacophonous]

Yet all are legal for Iraq to possess; i.e., they do not qualify as weapons of mass destruction.

[buffyt]

But the dimwitocrats keep claiming the Iraq didn't have any big weapons like those....

[struwwelpeter]

RTC you rock!

[Sacajaweau]

btt

[Spruce]

Holy Crap!
You gotta see what these BM 21 Rockets are!

...The 122-mm fin-stabilized rockets can deliver Frag-HE, chemical, or incendiary warheads to a range of over 20 kilometers, or the newer HE and cargo rockets out to 30 kilometers. On explosion, the warhead produces a great fragmentation effect and shock wave.

Because of its high volume of fire and large area coverage, the BM-21 is well suited for use against troops in the open, for use in artillery preparations, and for delivery of chemical concentrations.

[Joe 6-pack]

QUAGMIRE ALERT!!!!!

[Pro-Bush]

Good catch!

[McGavin999]

for use in artillery preparations, and for delivery of chemical concentrations.

Good catch Spruce!

[Spruce]

I'm hoping these are old weapons. If they are fresh there will be drastic changes in this campaign.

[blackie]

Keep praying. Someone's looking out for our guys daily in Iraq ~ Bump!

[jennyp]

I haven't been keeping up with the story of the ammo dumps. A while ago, several media outlets were saying that our forces were stretched so thin they couldn't prevent the ammo dumps from getting looted before we can dispose of them.

Anybody know the real story on this? Was that ever true? And if it was, is it still true today?

[mark502inf]

A cache implies some kind of informal, secretive storage site. BM21 rockets are very large & heavy. And they were spotted by an Apache Helicopter, not the kind of platform that can find anything even marginally well hidden. I suspect this was a regular Iraqi Army ammunition storage site. Gets easier all the time to figure out why we haven't found WMD.

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Amen!