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Iraqi trenches show soldiers better trained than thought
Stars and Stripes ^ | Apr 1, 2003 | Mark Oliva

Posted on 03/31/2003 9:38:22 PM PST by Diddley

SOUTHERN IRAQ —
When snipers from the 2nd Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment came upon a dug-in fighting position along the highway south of Nasiriyah, they were shocked at what they found.

While the Iraqi soldiers were gone, they had left behind significant quantities of weapons, chemical protective gear, food stores and even unit rosters. The complexity of supplies suggests the Iraqi units are better supplied and trained than previously thought.

“I’m shocked at how well-organized they are,” said Sgt. Fred Kittman, part of the sniper team that uncovered the trench line. “We were told that these Iraqi units down this way weren’t this well-supplied and trained.” Among the weapons recovered:

• 13 French-made Milan anti-tank rockets, primed and ready to fire.
• Five rocket-propelled grenades.
• 48 60 mm high explosive mortar rounds.
• 13 80 mm white phosphorous mortar rounds.
"It looked liked everyone just walked off the line and stripped down,” said Kittman. “You could see flip-flop impressions leading away from the fighting positions.”

The Marines collected tan and olive Iraqi uniforms, black berets and boots. They also found a unit roster that they believe details the members of Iraqi 3rd Battalion, 47th Brigade, 11th Infantry Division. The Iraqi unit, garrisoned near Nasiriyah, surrendered to U.S. troops and sat out the fighting.

Personal items in the trench line included gas masks, water purification devices and instructions on how to use the chemical protective gear.,P. “All the NBC gear was in the plastic with extra canisters,” said Marine Sgt. James Zourek, another sniper involved in the recovery. “We saw instructions on how to use atropine.”
Finally, the Marines found stashes of fresh vegetables and oil, which suggested that the Iraqi troops hadn’t been gone long.

“There was bags of fruit and bread out there,” Zourek added. “It couldn’t have been there more than a couple days.”
What the Marines didn’t find in the trench also spoke volumes. There were no small arms, heavy machine guns or mortars.

“We didn’t find anything indigenous to a person trying to protect themselves,” Kittman said. “Nothing that would suggest they abandoned their personal gear that they carried.”
The Marines discovered that the Iraqi troops had two lines of defense along the supply route.
“They had the forethought to think we were going to come down here and they were waiting for us,” Kittman said.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: embeddedreport; iraqisoldiers; trained; trenches
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Hmmmmmm.
1 posted on 03/31/2003 9:38:22 PM PST by Diddley
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To: Diddley
...so well trained that they left all of this for us...
2 posted on 03/31/2003 9:40:09 PM PST by Naspino
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To: Diddley
"13 French-made Milan anti-tank rockets"

How ironic.
3 posted on 03/31/2003 9:41:04 PM PST by yonif
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To: Diddley
I forgot this:

— Mark Oliva is embedded with the 2nd Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment.
4 posted on 03/31/2003 9:43:38 PM PST by Diddley (Those who have the facts present them; those who don't, rail.)
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To: yonif
Good catch.
5 posted on 03/31/2003 9:44:17 PM PST by Diddley (Those who have the facts present them; those who don't, rail.)
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To: Diddley
Okay, so they were well-organized, well-equipped, well-trained...

And nowhere to be found because they were GONE.

Give me a ****ing break, man. I'm sick of this kind of "Iraqi bogey-man" cr*p.
6 posted on 03/31/2003 9:45:10 PM PST by Illbay (Don't believe every tagline you read - including this one)
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To: Diddley
The Marines collected tan and olive Iraqi uniforms, black berets and boots. They also found a unit roster that they believe details the members of Iraqi 3rd Battalion, 47th Brigade, 11th Infantry Division. The Iraqi unit, garrisoned near Nasiriyah, surrendered to U.S. troops and sat out the fighting.

When the media reports this sort of thing, it only leaves those surrenderring soldiers' families vulnerable to Saddam. The media should not give out such explicit information about unit numbers.

7 posted on 03/31/2003 9:45:44 PM PST by xm177e2 (Stalinists, Maoists, Ba'athists, Pacifists: Why are they always on the same side?)
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To: Diddley
"Iraqi trenches show soldiers better trained than thought"
"While the Iraqi soldiers were gone, they had left behind significant quantities of weapons, chemical protective gear, food stores and even unit rosters. "

Sure - well trained units leave all this stuff around when they re-position.
8 posted on 03/31/2003 9:49:09 PM PST by RS
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To: Illbay
Yup.

Better-trained doesn't mean well-trained.
9 posted on 03/31/2003 9:49:19 PM PST by Diddley (Those who have the facts present them; those who don't, rail.)
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To: Diddley
“I’m shocked at how well-organized they are,”

I'm shocked, saddened, and deeply concerned.

So... where are all those brave Iraqi soldiers who ran off and left all of their stuff behind?

10 posted on 03/31/2003 9:51:24 PM PST by laz17 (Socialism is the religion of the atheist.)
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To: Diddley
"But, but, but . . . I bet these were elites - they had shoes!"
11 posted on 03/31/2003 9:55:08 PM PST by Hank Rearden ("Oh, bother!", thought Pooh, as he chambered his last round.)
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To: yonif
All the arms we seize is French or Russian and everything that kills our guys is French and Russian.

hmmmmm

12 posted on 03/31/2003 9:59:47 PM PST by ChadGore (288,007,154 Americans did not protest the war today)
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To: Diddley
Flip-flops? No Ho-Chis?
13 posted on 03/31/2003 10:09:21 PM PST by aspidistra
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To: aspidistra; Hank Rearden
Shoes, Flip-Flops.

These are the elite.
14 posted on 03/31/2003 10:12:35 PM PST by Diddley (Those who have the facts present them; those who don't, rail.)
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To: Illbay
I agree. It is almost like hearing a football coach talk about how dominate and athletic the other team is at halftime, this with his own team leading 42-3 and winning the game is not in doubt.
15 posted on 03/31/2003 10:16:06 PM PST by CatOwner
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To: CatOwner
dominate = dominant
16 posted on 03/31/2003 10:17:44 PM PST by CatOwner
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To: Diddley
Well trained, organized, equipped, all for what?

To run for their lives.
17 posted on 03/31/2003 10:23:16 PM PST by livis_dad
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To: CatOwner
They couldn't figure out how to shoot the rockets and grenades so they took their AK's and got outathere. This doesn't mean they are better trained, it just means the oil for food program bought alot of stuff for Sadam.
18 posted on 03/31/2003 10:23:16 PM PST by chuckles
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To: chuckles
Exactly..
You can put lipstick and a tutu on a hog, but that won't turn a hog into a girl.....

All the equipment and fortifications in the world, doesn't make a warrior...

Look at the French...for example!

Semper Fi
19 posted on 03/31/2003 10:42:04 PM PST by river rat (War works......It brings Peace... Give war a chance to destroy Jihadists...)
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To: Diddley
I'm starting to see their nefarious plan: our guys will sprain their backs lifting all the crap they leave behind in their abandoned positions.
20 posted on 03/31/2003 11:48:22 PM PST by edsheppa
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