B36 News - 05 October 2006

There are some headlines floating around right now claiming that Al Masri, the new leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, was killed in a recent raid in Haditha. I would advise readers look past the headline and read the whole story before they start dancing in the streets.
(FoxNews) (BBC)

Al Masri Aide Captured
We may not have gotten Al Masri yet, but we got a buddy of his along with 31 of his buddy's buddy. I believe that the interrogators are using the tickly-feather-of-death technique to extract further information about insurgent actions aimed at gutting and beheading people who don't want to convert to Islam. As long as they don't make him uncomfortable I'll be able to sleep at night.

Wait, is that how it works? Or will I be able to sleep at night because the men who want to gut me and cut my head off are being hunted and killed? Anyway, what's on MTV?

ISF Take Out Terrorists
An increasingly capable ISF conducts many operations throughout Iraq, here is one that you get to hear about.

After receiving reports that bad guys were kicking people out of their houses, troops from the 2nd & 3rd Brigade of the 8th Iraqi Army Division, which is in the lead, rolled into the Obiedi area and set up a cordon and search resulting in 8 bad guys captured.

Weapons Siezed, Rape/Murder Prevented
Troops in Baghdad have had a busy few years protecting innocents and killing bad guys and the last few days are no exception. In two seperate operations troops siezed a whole heck of a lot of weapons, ammo, and explosives along with the bad guys who were trying to hide them.

On top of those siezures troops also stopped a bad guy from raping and killing a woman along the side of the road. While they were investigating they found that the bad guy had a stash of weapons and body armor.

*POOF*

One less bad guy roaming around.

Goes Around...
So what happens to those weapons once we put our hands on them? Much of it is destroyed, but some of it is finding a new home in the hands of the ISF.

By Lance Cpl. Ben Eberle
1st Marine Logistics Group
CAMP TAQADDUM -- Since March 2003, coalition forces have seized thousands of unauthorized small arms through security patrols and urban search operations.

Marines and civilians with Ammunition Platoon, Supply Company, Combat Logistics Regiment 15, 1st Marine Logistics Group (Forward), are redeploying these weapon systems into the Iraqi Army, turning insurgent resources into coalition assets.

“We need to arm our allies,” said Warrant Officer Robert P. Smith, officer-in-charge of Camp Taqaddum’s Ammunition Supply Point (ASP). “We not only need to train them on our tactics, we need to arm them with what they need to fight the insurgents.”

Thousands of weapons, mostly AK-47 assault rifles, have been brought to the ASP where a team of specialists inspects the recovered items to determine which are still operational.

“As units conduct patrols, they come up with unauthorized weapons that eventually come to one of these collection points,” said Gunnery Sgt. Mark W. Scarlata, electro-optics maintenance chief for Maintenance Company. “Our primary function is to sort the serviceable and unserviceable, authorized and unauthorized (for use by the Iraqi Security Forces).”

To determine which weapons are operational, the team forms an assembly line with each individual conducting a separate function check. The team can make basic repairs on location, such as changing a pair of hand guards or replacing a bolt assembly, said Scarlata, a 38-year-old from Lakeland, Fla.

Some of the weapons coming to the ASP are unsalvageable. Faulty trigger mechanisms, for example, commonly keep weapons from redeploying. Some weapons never have a chance for redeployment. Homemade mortar tubes and rocket-propelled grenade launchers are destroyed along with the assault rifles, shotguns and pistols that are beyond repair.

“We’ve got a good crew here, everyone’s playing their part,” added Scarlata. He refers to his team as a “hodge-podge” of Marines, some of whom have military occupational specialties as motor transportation operators, administration specialists and legal clerks.

“We give them the rundown of what to look for, and with the seven (small-arms repairmen) we have here, we’re not running into any problems,” said Scarlata.

Three of the seven specialists are civilian contractors with prior military service.

“I never expected to be here, but I decided to come out because I knew I had something to contribute,” said Chris Piepgrass, a 50-year-old from Springfield, Ore., who retired after 22 years in the Air Force. “It feels good to be a part of this.”

One of the small arms repairmen is a former Marine who is getting his first taste of a deployment to Iraq.

“I’m just doing my part to help out, turning some of these guns around and getting them into the right hands,” said Adam G. Garner, a Robbins, N.C., native. He served in the Marine Corps from 2001 to 2005.

What Garner might lack in deployment experience he makes up for in his knowledge of small arms.

He rummaged through a bin of weapons and randomly pulled out pistols and shotguns and at a glance, described their features - even where they were manufactured.

“I’ve seen Egyptian, German and Czechoslovakian Mausers,” said Garner, referring to some of the rifles he’s seen since the weapons started coming in. “Some of these (AK-47s) are more than 30 years old. They’re fairly indestructible,” he said as he gestured toward the assembly line.

Camp Taqaddum is not the only base contributing to the redeployment of seized weapons. The Marine Corps has also established collection points in Al Asad and Fallujah.

“This is going to help arm the Iraqi Army with what is authorized, giving them more of a starting point than they already have,” said Scarlata. He added that once the IA is properly trained, they can assume responsibility for the security of Iraq.