Coalition Soldiers Given Confiscated Weapons By Iraqi National Police
Soldiers and various elements of the 789th Ordnance Company, along with troops from 3rd Brigade Combat were relieved to be presented with a large amount of weapons recently. These weapons were seized in operations by Iraqi National Police and released into Coalition Custody.
Coalition Soldiers are increasingly relegated to supervisory and advisor status as Iraqi National Police and Iraqi Army forces become more proficient, running their own operations and finding large success.
The Iraqi INP regiment gave the cache of weapons to troops with 3rd squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team. Soldiers from the Bomb squad and disposal units with Coalition forces proceeded to destroy the munitions immediately.
The munitions were in poor condition, but were assessed and evaluated immediately by the bomb units. The ordinance and explosives used were of sufficient magnitude to still present quite a danger to anyone in the area.
“It is rewarding to see the Iraqi Forces starting to take charge of their own missions, and to be able to stand tall on their own,†said one Staff Sgt in the Bomb Disposal Unit. “We are able to take a breath now, and not feel as pressured, a lot of the heavy lifting is being done by the Iraqi’s now,†said the Sgt.
Both the Bomb 789th Ordnance Co (EOD) and 3-1 Cav Regiment are assigned to 3rd Infantry Division. Each part of the team has participated in operations in Iraq in support of Operation Freedom.
