National Police Help Uncover Weapons Cache

Policemen assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st National Police Brigade, display part of a weapons cache they found in al Muntadar, a small village east of Baghdad, March 25. (Photo courtesy of Co. C, 1-15th Inf. Regt.)

Forward Operating Base Hammer, Iraq, Thursday, 27 March 2008

By Spc. Ben Hutto

Policemen assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st National Police Brigade led U.S. Soldiers to two weapons caches near al Muntadar, a small village east of Baghdad, March 25.

Soldiers from Company C, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, recovered both weapons caches, which contained 52 80 mm mortars, two 60 mm mortars and one 122 mm artillery shell.
“The National Police continue to support us by leading us to caches,” said 1st Lt. Aaron Wilkerson, from Florence, S.C., the fire support officer for Company C.

Since taking over their current battle space Feb. 15, Company C has seen security in the area improve.

“The frequency of small-arms fire and IED (improvised explosive attacks) have steadily decreased because of the cooperation between the Sons of Iraq, National Police and Coalition forces,” Wilkerson said.

This was the fourth cache Company C has recovered in the past month.

Soldiers from the 789th Ordnance Company (EOD), from Ft. Benning, Ga., currently attached to the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, performed a controlled detonation on-site.

The 1-15 Inf. Regt. is assigned to the 3rd HBCT, 3rd Infantry Division from Fort Benning, Ga., and has been deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since March 2007.