Sons of Iraq Lead 1-10 FA to Weapons Cache

Members of the Sons of Iraq in Sabbah Nissan, a small village east of Baghdad, stand beside a weapons cache they found in Fursan March 8. The group led Soldiers from Battery A, 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery, and the 789th Ordnance Company (EOD), currently attached to the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, to the cache.

Forward Operating Base Hammer, Iraq

Sons of Iraq in Sabbah Nissan led Soldiers in Battery A, 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery, to a weapons cache buried at a remote location outside Fursan, a small farming community near FOB Hammer, March 8.

The SoI in Sabbah Nissan, a small village east of Baghdad, have found and led the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team to 15 caches since their group formed two months ago.

“Since I don’t have any Iraqi Security Forces operating directly in my area, the Sons of Iraq help fill the gap,” said Capt. Chas Cannon, from Moultrie, Ga., commander of Battery A. “They’ve done a great job.”

The cache contained a rocket, three mortar fuses, one 130 mm artillery round, 81 rocket-propelled grenade motors and three rocket-propelled grenades.

Though the munitions were badly degraded, Cannon said they could have potentially been used for improvised explosive device attacks.

“By getting that cache … we have made this area safer for everyone here,” Cannon said.

The cache was destroyed on site by the 789th Ordnance Company (EOD), from Fort Benning, Ga., currently attached to the 3rd HBCT.

The 1-10 FA 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.