Cavalry Unit Thwarts Insurgent Plan

First Lt. Christian Hoempler, left, the second platoon leader of Troop C, 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, and members of his platoon prior to a mission at Combat Outpost Cache (North), Iraq.

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – Two Iraqi insurgents were detained after members of Troop C, 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, observed the men acting suspiciously, Dec. 26, near Jisr Diyala on a road frequently used by coalition forces.

The men were approached by the troopers who had been observing the road looking for enemy activity and improvised explosive devices.

“Aviation saw two individuals hiding on the side of the road where IEDs always go off,” said 1st Lt. Christian Hoempler, the second platoon leader for Troop C. “They led us right to them, but as we approached, they ran.”

Using the attack aviation to maintain contact, Hoempler maneuvered his platoon to a house the men had fled to.

“We brought our vehicles to the location, dismounted and surrounded the house,” Hoempler said. “We were able to sneak up behind them as they tried to hide in the yard.”

The two men were later identified as high-value individuals—numbers three and five—on the 3rd Squadron’s most wanted list.

“We track information day in and day out, and I know the names of the insurgents and suspected insurgents,” said Hoempler. “When I was questioning one of the bad suspects he told me his name and I chuckled and said, ‘That’s convenient.’”

Upon questioning the second man, Hoempler’s suspicions were further aroused.

“When I was questioning the second suspect, he gave me his name which sounded familiar, and I knew that the situation was too suspicious to be coincidence,” he said. “The same two guys had detonated an IED on my roommate earlier in the deployment.”

Once the fleeing men were questioned, one of them admitted to placing an IED on the road. An immediate search of the area produced nothing; however, the men were previously linked to an active IED manufacturing and deployment cell. The cell’s leader was captured earlier in the day in eastern Baghdad, making the two men the fifth and sixth insurgents to be captured in the last five days.

“The most important thing is that all my guys come home safely,” said Hoempler.

“These arrests, at least in the short term, will make the route safer and discourage extremists from attacking coalition forces.”

The 3-1 Cav. Regt. is assigned to the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, from Fort Benning, Ga., and has been deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since March, 2007.