Military

Spc. Erin Robicheaux
256th Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Office

MAHMUDIYAH, Iraq - Supplied with tips from local residents, U.S. Army and Marines Corps patrols are giving terrorists a reason to complain lately.
Soldiers of the 256th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division and Marines of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), are working side-by-side to flush terrorists from their hiding places.
"Unless [a terrorist] is willing to be a suicide bomber, they don't want to come here. The military presence is too high, and it's growing," said Col. Ronnie D. Johnson, the deputy brigade commander for the 256th. He said the experience of working with the Marines was a textbook case of how a joint force operation should run.
"The Marines came in here straight off of a ship, they integrated their staff in our operations center and we've been a team since day one," said the New Orleans, La. resident. "If we run joint operations again, this would be a model for it."
Lt. Col. David Furness, from Columbus, Ohio, commander of 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, 15th MEU (SOC), said his unit was brought in to clear an area without military forces for quite some time. They conducted operations in a rural area comprised of small villages and no urbanization. It was a perfect place for terrorists to hide weapons and ammunition.
From the word "go," the Marines set out to rid the area of as many terrorists as they could.
"We conducted several search-and-attack missions, searched homes, culverts, and canals," said Furness. "If it looked like a good hiding place, we searched it."
As a result of their persistence, the 15th MEU (SOC) uncovered a number of weapon caches, including sites for rocket-propelled grenades, improvised explosive devices, and mortar rounds. A dismounted patrol discovered two IEDs made of aviation ordinance. A 500-pound Russian aviation bomb daisy chained to a 155-millimeter howitzer round was also discovered.
Furness gave much of the credit of the successful missions to the Iraqi people themselves. When the Marines arrived in the Mahmudiyah area, the local populace was overwhelmingly cooperative and showed signs they were happy the 15th MEU (SOC) was there.
"These [terrorists] are taking advantage of the lawlessness in the area and they're preying on these people," said Furness.
The locals were so grateful for the Marines that they told them where to find weapon caches and terrorists. Furness' Marines discovered a huge explosives cache that was used to make IEDs, because of a local woman's assistance. She, along with the rest of the community, seemed tired of the insurgency, Furness said.
"The [terrorists] take their money, their cars, their furniture, everything they can from the innocent people in the area, and the residents are getting sick of it," said Furness.
He claimed that having a constant presence in the area is key.
"When you're episodically in and out, it's hard for the Iraqis to get to know you, but when you stick around for a little while, they'll start to trust you and eventually they'll tell you where to find these guys."
Based largely on intelligence given to them from the local residents, the Marines detained more than 40 terrorists, many of them high-value targets.
Johnson believed that the combination of local intelligence and the good working relationship between the two military services are what made for a very successful operation.
"The Marines are able to sustain themselves in a field environment for a significant amount of time," said Johnson. "We were able to provide them with logistical support, such as ammunition and up-armored vehicles."
The 256th BCT provided the Marines with the intelligence they needed to find the insurgents, but Johnson claimed that the significant contribution was the information provided by the local people. It was a sign that the Iraqis were approaching their breaking point and willing to do what they could to get rid of the criminals who were terrorizing them.
"They're beginning to trust the American and Iraqi militaries, and once they do, they'll tell us which doors to knock on," said Johnson.
Iraqi Security Forces and Task Force Baghdad officials strongly encourage all Iraqi citizens to report suspicious behavior by e-mailing baghdadtipshotline@yahoo.com or calling one of the TIPS hotlines at 07901737723 or 07901737727.

THIS STORY HAS ACCOMPANYING PHOTOGRAPHS. TO RECEIVE THE PHOTOS, E-MAIL THE CPIC PRESS DESK AT cpicpressdesk@iraq.centcom.mil.

CUTLINES:

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MAHMUDIYAH, Iraq - Marines of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) patrol the streets around Mahmudiyah, Iraq. Their mission was to clear the area of weapons caches, improvised explosive devices, and anything that could be used against coalition forces, (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Thomas Benoit, 256th Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs)

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MAHMUDIYAH, Iraq - Marines patrol the rural areas of Mahmudiyah, Iraq, sweeping for improvised explosive devices and weapons caches. The 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) worked with the 256th Brigade Combat Team to clear the area of insurgents. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Thomas Benoit, 256th Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs)

TEXT FOR RELEASE AND OPSEC REVIEW PROVIDED BY THE 3RD INFANTRY DIVISION PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE. FOR CONTACT 3 ID PAO AT DAVID.ABRAMS@ID3.ARMY.MIL.

Release #050416c