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âFallujah Battalionâ Nabs More Than 6 Tons of Weapons
Two companies from the Iraqi National Task Forceâs 2 nd Battalion, here netted more than 6 tons and seven truckloads of cached weapons on the outskirts of Al Tarmiya in a previously unreported four-day operation in May after sweeping through a hidden insurgent arms depot just south of the city. The operation, from May 20 to 24, 2004, a coalition coordinated mission, comes only weeks after widespread reports roundly criticized the unit for its role in an early April operation north of Baghdad. Battalion soldiers were alleged to have turned and run on their American partners before heading into a planned operation in Fallujah â a report disputed by the actual participants in the engagement. The find, consisting of nine sites in a roughly 4 kilometer-square area of dense âtriple-canopyâ palms just off an improved dirt and gravel road in the area, is being reported as the largest single-operation haul in many months as the Iraqi National Task Force and coalition forces continue the attempt to bring security and safety to the citizens of Iraq...âIt shows to everybody who had doubts about how well the Iraqi army would perform in the face of an adverse situation,â said Coalition Military Assistance Training Team 2 nd Battalion Senior Advisor, Marine Corps Maj. David E. Lane II â an Acquisition Support Team member, along with Garcia, especially familiar with the unitâs operational readiness. âAfter Fallujah, they come back and do the training â work harder than theyâve ever worked before â and still have the confidence to go out and accomplish missions that theyâve been assigned,â Lane said. âAnd the fact that coalition forces actually use them and theyâre actually a part of the coalition demonstrates that they play a vital role in the security of this country,â he added. EFL Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2004-06-03 |
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