ING, MNF CLEAN-UP UNEXPLODED MUNITIONS, TEACH CHILDREN OF DANGERS

Central Command ^ | November 22, 2004

[Clive]

November 22, 2004

Release Number: 04-11-73

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ING, MNF CLEAN-UP UNEXPLODED MUNITIONS, TEACH CHILDREN OF DANGERS

TIKRIT, Iraq -- Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Soldiers spent early November cleaning up unexploded munitions north of Tikrit.

Working closely with the 201st Iraqi National Guard Battalion, the Soldiers worked for two weeks to clean up the area.

More than 1,000 rounds of highly explosive artillery ammunition was hidden in a series of former Iraqi Army positions near northern Tikrit and was destroyed during the operation.

The artillery shells are used by insurgents to make improvised explosive devices. Since late October, there have been more than 20 IED attacks in the Tikrit area.

This ammunition cache was particularly dangerous for a second reason. Local children frequently used the area as play ground.

Seeing the children, the commander of Bravo Company, decided to use the Iraqi National Guard soldiers to teach classes on the dangers of unexploded munitions to the kids.

"We could have just run the kids off," said Capt. Dave Arnold, Bravo Company commander. However, "it occurred to me that it made sense to teach them about the dangers of this stuff."

The class was well received by local parents, who thanked the Iraqi Soldiers who taught the class. This was the first class of its kind in the Task Force 1-18 area.

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