Posted on 01/14/2006 9:00:46 PM PST by SandRat
HIT, Iraq (Jan. 14, 2006) -- For four long, backbreaking days, Marine combat engineers and infantrymen unearthed cache after cache of insurgent ordnance and weaponry in and around Hit, Iraq during Operation Hedgehog.
Marines from the Combat Engineer Platoon, Battalion Landing Team 1st Bn., 2nd Marines kicked off the operation with a search of long-suspected hide sites throughout Hit and soon began unearthing treasure troves of insurgent arms.
“This was our biggest find to date,” said 1st Lt. Antonio Agnone, the combat engineer platoon leader for BLT 1/2. “We’ve uncovered numerous, and significant caches the insurgents have hidden in Hit in places where they thought they would have easy access to them.”
Agnone and his Marines unearthed nearly 500 rockets and artillery and mortar rounds, along with approx. 100 tank rounds and substantial quantities of rocket propellant, fuzes, and blasting caps. Such supplies are the components insurgents commonly use to make improvised explosive devices (IEDs), two of which were also found. Also discovered was a stockpile of assault rifles and ammunition of various caliber.
According to Agnone, what amazed many of his Marines was the lengths the insurgents would go to hide the caches, going so far as to defile a local cemetery.
Acting on a tip, the Marines carefully searched the cemetery and found caches in grave spots adorned with both head and foot markers.
“We went over the area very carefully with mine detectors,” explained Agnone, a native of Columbus, Ohio, “and that led us to the sites. We were very careful and didn’t disturb any civilian graves in the process.”
Shouldering the bulk of the effort were the individual combat engineers like those led by squad leader Cpl. Jeffrey R. Wass, an Erie, N.Y. native who deployed with most of the CEB platoon to Afghanistan in 2004.
“Corporal Wass and all the Marines did a superb job,” said Agnone. “They were really excited about the finds because engineering is such a broad field and by doing this we’ve had a direct impact on insurgent operations instead of just preparing defensive positions.”
As usual, the Marines aren’t planning to rest on their laurels.
“We’re pushing ahead to do more of the same,” added Agnone, commenting on future operations planned by the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) in and around Hit. “We’ll continue looking for more hide sites and suspected caches to deny these weapons to the insurgents.”
In addition to BLT 1/2, the 22nd MEU (SOC) consists of its Command Element, MEU Service Support Group 22, and Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 261 (Reinforced). The MEU is in Iraq’s Al Anbar province conducting counterinsurgency operations.
22nd MEU Ping
Go Jarheads!!!
Sorry, Navy here.
We ARE winning.
Kinda neat.
GOD bless our troops and GWB
BTTT
How little appreciated our guys are over there, esp by the america-haters over here. Has anyone done the math? We've had 2000+ combat casualties since march 2003 in Iraq. Given the same number of law enforcement personnel in the US during the same time frame, what has been the casualty rate? Also, how many people in the US die every year from traffic accidents? I would suspect that a US military serviceman over there is in no more danger than the average citizen here, and yet here we have the US press loudly trumpeting every death/injury over there. Another point : the movie Lawrence of Arabia shows what the problem is : tribal divisions in a harsh desert, people barely clinging onto existence. WATER is their dream. bring them WATER and much of the underlying arab hatred of america would evaporate...President Musharraf said it best...
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