ANBAR PROVINCE, Iraq -- Another improvement was made toward protecting Coalition forces, Iraqi security forces and citizens of Iraq from dangerous ordnance used by the insurgency here, April 29.
Marines with Charlie Company, 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 5, known as “Gunfighter,” discovered a weapons cache consisting of more than six 120 mm.
“Finding the caches cuts down on the items the insurgents use to inflict harm to Coalition forces and Iraqi civilians,” said Lance Cpl. Matthew R. Dean, a scout with Charlie Company and the one of the discoverers of the cache. “It stops munitions from going into the larger cities and saves lives.”
The Marines discovered the cache while conducting patrols through western Anbar province during a 10-day company operation. From the extensive improvised explosive device and cache awareness training they received, the Marines were able to spot a possible cache and started digging.
“Scouts possess an attention to detail because anything could be dangerous,” said Dean, 21, from Memphis, Tenn. “When something looks out of the ordinary, we always want to check it out.”
The find not only foiled the enemy’s plans and was a factor in fighting the war on terrorism, but it also instilled confidence in the Marines to find more and more caches in the future.
“I love the satisfaction of doing something good that someone else benefits from,” said Cpl. Raymond S. Miller, a scout with Charlie Company from Birmingham, Ala. “When we found this one, I jumped up and down with joy because we found it and there were no leads.”