Surge Brigades Coordinate, Net High-value Individual

Staff Sgt. Sean Riley, 3rd HBCT, 3rd Inf. Div.
Multi-National Division – Center PAO

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – Working together to deny sanctuary to insurgents, two surge brigades cooperated to catch the 3rd Infantry Division’s No. 4 most-wanted terrorist in Baghdad Oct. 11. The No. 4 high-value individual frequently operated near the village of Nahrwan, in the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Inf. Div.’s area of operation. The individual fled Narhwan after the 3rd HBCT began operations to detain him.

Maj. David Fivecoat, the 3rd HBCT’s operations officer, believes the apprehension of the key insurgent will effectively disrupt extremists in the area. “This capture will disrupt the extremist network that previously had conducted rocket and improvised explosive device attacks against the 3rd HBCT from the relative safety of the town of Narhwan,” Fivecoat said. Fivecoat, a native of Delaware, Ohio, attributed the success to the recent surge.

“The capture of HVI No. 4 by 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, is a great example of two surge brigades working together to detain a high-level insurgent that, before this summer, would have been able to find sanctuary,” said Fivecoat. “With brigades working together like this, the extremists will have a much harder time operating freely.”

Company C, 2-325th Airborne Inf. Regt., 82nd Airborne Division, from Fort Bragg, N.C., part of Multi-National Division-Baghdad, apprehended the 3rd Inf. Div.’s No. 4 during a raid.

Upon verifying the identity of the HVI, he was turned over to elements of the 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 3rd HBCT, 3rd Inf. Div., for processing and detention.