Tip Leads Platoon to EFP, Weapons Caches

A little late posting this but too important to pass up. These guys just keep doing outstanding work! Awesome job guys!

Michael Gisick /S&S

Army Sgt. 1st Class Max Donahue (right), Lt. Col. John Kolasheski (middle) and an interpreter survey a ditch where Donahue's platoon found several explosively formed penetrators on Sunday.

Michael Gisick / S&S Staff Sgt.

Daniel Butler, front, Spc. Tim O’Donnell, left, and Spc. Tim Davis process a cache of explosively formed penetrators discovered in a village southeast of Baghdad on Sunday. The soldiers are members of the 789th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company. Officers believe the cache belonged to an alleged Shiite militant who was arrested two weeks ago.

Tip leads platoon to EFP, weapons caches
Officials say stashes may be linked to man who led U.S.-backed militia

By Michael Gisick, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Tuesday, February 12, 2008

TUWAITHA, Iraq — A U.S. Army platoon southeast of Baghdad discovered two caches of explosively formed penetrators and other weapons this weekend that commanders say they may be able to tie directly to Iran.

The caches, discovered Friday and Sunday near the village of Jurf al-Nadaf, also may have ties to a man who until recently led a group of U.S.–backed neighborhood militia, officers said.

Officers believe the cache belonged to an alleged Shiite militant who was arrested two weeks ago.
They say the man, whom they declined to name, is believed to have led a cell of 10 to 12 militants and may have travelled to Iran for training.

The man’s brother, described as the midlevel leader of a probationary “Sons of Iraq” group, as the military calls them, fled after the man’s arrest and is also wanted by U.S. troops, said Capt. Ernie Melton, 32, of San Antonio, commander of Troop C, 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment. Melton’s troops found the cache.

The cache found Friday consisted of 13 EFPs, 37 blocks of C4 explosive, a mortar tube and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Officers said it was easily the largest EFP cache found in the area.

On Sunday, the platoon found five more EFPs, several shaped charges, 28 grenades, three RPG rounds and detonating devices hidden in the weeds of an abandoned field approximately 650 feet from the building where the earlier cache was found.

EFPs, which are explosive charges that essentially hurl a slug of molten metal, have become perhaps the most widely feared weapon used against U.S. troops because of their ability to penetrate armor.

Senior American officials have long claimed that Iran is supplying and training Shiite militants with the relatively sophisticated devices.

Officers here say they may have evidence that goes beyond that general assumption.

“Our [explosive ordnance disposal] specialists believe it’s Iranian C4” based on the lot numbers, said Army Lt. Col. John Kolasheski, commander of the Fort Benning, Ga.-based 3-1 Cav.

The EFPs and other weapons are being tested for fingerprints and other evidence, Kolasheski said.

Members of Troop C’s 3rd Platoon, which found the weapons, said they were led to them by members of a neighborhood militia group.

“The report we got was one [improvised explosive device],” said Sgt. 1st Class Max Donahue, 39, of Houston. Donahue said his patrol proceeded to a building described by the neighborhood militia members, where they found the EFPs inside a bag.

“As soon as I cut it open, I realized what we were really looking at,” he said.

Summing up the universal respect accorded to the weapon, Donahue said “they would have destroyed us if we’d hit them on a patrol. It would have been catastrophic death.”

Donahue said the second find was made after a man reported a machine gun hidden in a building next to the field.

Land Mines Add to Week’s Cache Finds

American and Iraqi troops found a cache south of Baghdad last week that contained more than 1,000 land mines, officials said.

The find was one of six weapons caches found during joint operations northeast of Iskandariyah.

“The operation was designed to locate weapons caches and deprive al-Qaida in Iraq of their ability to attack Iraqi and Coalition forces,” a news release about the caches read.

“In addition to the 1,000 land mines, a substantial amount of munitions was found in two other caches, including 24 57 mm rounds, nine 130 mm artillery rounds and 60 pounds of unknown bulk explosives.”

The weapons and explosives caches were destroyed by air support and an explosive ordnance disposal team, officials said.

— Stars and Stripes

Support Runs Both Ways at Hammer for the 1st SB

(Left to right) Command Sgt. Maj. Frank Cardoza, the command sergeant major for the 1st Sustainment Brigade; Lt. Col. Kelly Lawler, the commander of the 203rd Brigade Support Battalion; and Col. Kevin O’Connell, commander of the 1st Sustainment Brigade, talk about the improved reception center built at Forward Operating Base Hammer. “We built a reception complex for the Soldiers to have a bunk, and a place where there was air-conditioning, toilets, etc,” said Lawler.

By Staff Sgt. Bryant Maude
1st Sustainment Brigade Public Affairs Office

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – On a recent visit to Forward Operating Base Hammer, a dusty outpost east of Baghdad, Col. Kevin O’Connell, the commander of the 1st Sustainment Brigade, visited one of his customers, the 203rd Brigade Support Battalion, and two of his units the 461st Postal Company and Detachment A, 106th Finance Management Company.

A year ago, FOB Hammer was nothing more than a giant piece of dirt designated as the latest forward operating base being built to support the surge. The 203rd BSB was instrumental in this project and the 168th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st SB, was a lifeline for supplies coming in and out of the area.

“Although the 203rd doesn’t fall into Multi-National Division-Baghdad, we were asked to support them and that is what we are doing,” stated O’Connell.

The “203rd BSB Reception Area” is one of many projects over the year that has impacted the 1st SB and the Soldiers most likely to use the facility are the transporters of the 168th BSB. The 168th BSB transports all classes of supply into FOB Hammer from Victory Base Complex several times a week. Occasionally this leaves them in need of a meal, restrooms and a place to sleep.

“When we first got here with trucks to build Hammer, there was no place for the Soldiers to go and get out of the elements and at the time it was hot,” said Lt. Col. Kelly Lawler, commander of the 203rd BSB. “So we built a reception complex for the Soldiers to have a bunk, and a place where there was air-conditioning, toilets, etc…It was our desire that Soldiers from the 1st SB having to stay here with us will have a good facility.”

One critical type of supply transported to FOB Hammer by the 168th BSB is class VIII medical supplies. Company C, 203rd BSB, receives, sorts, and distributes the medical supplies to all units operating out of FOB Hammer. Staff Sgt. Laurie Miorano, medical supply specialist with Company C, has noticed a considerable change in turn around time for receiving products since the 1st SB took over.

“Things are improving. What was taking three to four weeks now takes about two,” said Miorano.

There was also an opportunity to visit finance and the post office – both functions are part of the Special Troops Battalion, 1st SB responsibilities at FOB Hammer. At the time of the visit the finance company was in the process of getting new cement poured around the building, which will help cut down on dust and mud for Soldiers entering the facility.

“It helps that Lt. Col. Lawler is the Mayor here at (FOB) Hammer,” said O’Connell. “He can help us get needed upgrades.”

The Soldiers stationed at FOB Hammer seem to appreciate the finance and postal units.

Pfc. Luis Pedraza needed help with a package and Army Reservist and Gadsden, Ala., native Staff Sgt. Christopher Wallace, a postal clerk with the 461st Postal Company, processed his request fast.

“I’m here to mail a package for my friend to his wife,” said Pedraza. “The service here is excellent!”

The relationship between the 1st SB and the 203rd BSB is strong and as FOB Hammer continues to improve so will the support transient Soldiers receive.

“You’ve come a long way since we’ve been here and we appreciate the opportunity to work with you,” stated O’Connell.

Coalition Forces Start Operation Marne Grand Slam

By Multi-National Division - Center
Public Affairs Office

BAGHDAD – Multi-National Division – Center forces began pursuit of remaining insurgent elements near Salman Pak Feb. 15 with the kickoff of Operation Marne Grand Slam. The operation is designed to terminally disable the dwindling number of al-Qaida in Iraq operatives remaining in the region southeast of Baghdad.

The first phase of Grand Slam involves clearing a peninsula that stretches into the Tigris River, directly south of the city of Salman Pak. In addition to targeting the terrorist network there, coalition forces will go after AQI’s infrastructure of safe houses, weapon caches and firing points.

From that point, U.S. Soldiers will increase their presence in the area surrounding Salman Pak, to assist the local population in regaining control of their area.

Troops from the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division are already moving into Combat Outpost Carver, currently under construction southeast of Salman Pak. The outpost is located on a peninsula on the Tigris River, in an area that was a former stronghold of the Iraqi Republican Guard. From here, Soldiers can maintain visibility on river traffic and impede insurgent movement.

The outpost is named after Pvt. Cody Carver, from Haskell, Okla., one of three soldiers killed in an Oct. 30 attack in Salman Pak and, at 19, the youngest of the 10 battalion Soldiers killed over the past year.

COP Carver hosts the first permanent presence of coalition forces in an area that has troubled the battalion for months.

The move south was facilitated by cooperation with coalition partners from the Republic of Georgia. A battalion of Georgian troops, part of the 1st Georgian Brigade, recently assumed control of an area to the north of COP Carver, allowing U.S. troops to move south.

U.S. commanders are now working with local tribal sheiks to set up a security cooperation arrangement with their tribesmen, the same as has been done elsewhere throughout MND-C with the Sons of Iraq groups. Talks have been underway for almost a month, preceding Marne Grand Slam, to organize SoI leaders and plot locations for security checkpoints.

13th Georgian Battalion Takes Command of COP Cleary

Lt. Col. Ryan Kuhn, from Clarks, Neb., deputy commander for the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, shakes hands with Juwad Kadnam al Shimari, president of the Wehida nahia council, at a transfer of authority ceremony, Feb. 10, at Combat Outpost Cleary, Iraq. The 13th Georgian Army Light Infantry Battalion assumed responsibility of COP Cleary and the Wehida area of operation from the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, which had operated in Wehida since April.

Story by Sgt. Natalie Rostek
Posted on 02.18.2008 at 02:08PM

Story and photos by Sgt. Natalie Rostek, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs Office

COMBAT OUTPOST CAHILL, Iraq – The 13th Georgian Light Infantry Battalion assumed responsibility for al Wehida from the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, in a transfer of authority ceremony, Feb. 10 ,at Combat Outpost Cleary.

Lt. Col. Jack Marr, from Minneapolis, commander of the 1-15th Inf. Regt. passed command of COP Cleary to Maj. David Sulkhanishvili, commander of the 13th Georgian LI Bn.

Capt. John Horning, from Houston, commander of Company C, 1-15th Inf. Regt. served as commander during the ceremony. Company C had worked in the al Wehida area since April.

Marr thanked leaders and representatives of al Wehida and the Mada’in Qada, the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team’s area of operation, who were present at the ceremony.

“Eleven months ago my Soldiers and I moved into this great city,” Marr said.

“From that very first day we have been welcomed as friends. Although we were a long way from our homes and families, your hospitality and generosity made us feel like we’d always lived here.”

Marr also expressed his pride for the accomplishments of the people of al Wehida.

“Over the past year we have watched as the good people of al Wehida have reclaimed their lives from the tyranny of terrorism,” he said. “You have replaced the fear people had, with hope for the future. Allow me to take this opportunity to compliment you for all your courage, your commitment and your dedication to making this city, this nahia and this country better.”

Partnered with members of the al Wehida council and other local officials, Company C completed several projects that Col. Wayne W. Grigsby, Jr., from Prince George’s County, Md., commander of the 3rd HBCT, highlighted in his speech.

“A new fire station has helped increased safety for local citizens,” Grigsby said. “A new health clinic has improved health care for area children. The al-Eslah School has enhanced opportunities for the next generation. A voice of the Mada’in radio station in Wehida has given the entire qada a new source of information.”

Grigsby said residents will soon see a new soccer stadium and improvements to the Wehida market.

“This is a tribute to the great work of Lt. Col. Jack Marr and the Dragon (1-15th Inf. Regt.) Soldiers,” Grigsby said, “but more so a tribute to the bravery, commitment and honor of the strong leaders, strong men of al Wehida. The honorable leaders of al Wehida, the men that have truly made this great day happen, are still here working towards that brighter future.”

Although the 1-15th Inf. Regt. is leaving the area, the 3rd HBCT will still be present. The 13th Georgian LI Bn. is currently attached to the brigade.

Also living on COP Cleary are members of Task Force Petro, the Georgian army liaison team from the 3rd HBCT, who will conduct missions with the Georgian army.

“Today it is my honor to introduce to you some new friends,” Marr said to the leaders of al Wehida. “The country of Georgia is a great friend of Iraq and the United States of America.”

“We are all working for peace and stability in Iraq,” Sulkhanishvili said through a translator. “I wish for all Soldiers, Georgian and American, to return home safely. God bless us all.”

The 13th Georgian LI Bn. is currently attached to the 3rd HBCT, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Ga. The 1-15th Inf. Regt. is assigned to the 3rd HBCT, 3rd Infantry Division and has been deployed in support of Operation Iraq Freedom since March.