Ever read anything positive about what's going on on the ground in Iraq? Here's a soldier's perspective:

IED ROLL-UP
A Soldiers Perspective
10 February 2006
CJ

Here we go again with the information you all love to hear about.

This week, Iraqi and Coalition forces found enough material to produce approximately 84 IEDs (improvised explosive devices/roadside bombs).

This is a VERY conservative figure as you’ll read in just ONE cache 73 mortar rounds were found. One could feasibly create 73 IEDs just off of that cache, but I took into account the rate by which they misfire and the fact that some of them would be combined into one IED with perhaps two mortar rounds.

My professional opinion is that at least 84 IEDs in total would have been created with all this ammunition. That translates into approximately 900 people who are still alive and unaffected by these explosive menaces. Innocent civilians and courageous soldiers were spared the devastating effects of an IED.
It is a direct reflection of the professionalism of your military and the Iraqi forces helping to counter these threats.

Are we having success against these things?

Absolutely!!

But, we’re not perfect. We can’t get every one. But that won’t prevent us from trying.

So, let’s get into it:

February 4 - Iraqi Police officers reported an improvised explosive device discovered along a business route to Coalition personnel. Bomb disposal personnel later arrived on scene and cleared the two surface laid artillery shells, which had been concealed with a timing device in a plastic bag.

February 4 - Iraqi soldiers identified and detained a would-be bomber and defused an explosive device after some quick coordination with Coalition personnel. Iraqi troops became suspicious of a man that was standing with a cell phone near a bridge on the east side of town. The soldiers also suspected a bomb was emplaced and contacted Coalition troops with the information. An Iraqi Army quick reaction force was dispatched and the suspect was arrested. The bomb was discovered on the side of the bridge and disarmed. No injuries or damages were reported. The detainee and roadside bomb were turned over to authorities for further disposition.

February 6 - Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division and Coalition forces discovered five caches and captured two insurgents during counter-insurgency operations near Hit. The caches, found along the Euphrates River, consisted of five 120 mm rocket rounds, one 120 mm rocket warhead, 73 120 mm mortar rounds, 39 90 mm high-explosive anti-tank rounds, seven 100 mm anti-tank rounds, two 122 mm artillery rounds, two 155 artillery rounds, 153 .53-caliber anti-personnel rounds, nine rocket-propelled grenade warheads, six 60 mm mortar rounds, 26 25 mm anti-aircraft rounds, 250 7.62 mm rounds, seven 122 mm fuses and a pair of binoculars. Soldiers also detained two insurgents at a vehicle control point southwest of Hit after they tested positive for explosives residue and were found to have three AK-47s, several identification cards and two cell phones in their possession.

February 6 - Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division and Coalition personnel discovered three men trying to dig up a weapons cache while conducting counter-insurgency operations in Barwanah. Soldiers killed the insurgents as they attempted to unearth the cache. The cache contained a 12.7 mm machine gun, a 60 mm mortar tube and bipod and one 130 mm artillery round. In a separate action, the soldiers detained a man suspected of insurgent activity after he tested positive for gunpowder residue. Three men were also detained in nearby Haqlaniyah after they tested positive for explosive residue.

February 7 - Iraqi Police and Coalition Soldiers seized two weapons caches and detained two men suspected of stealing oil from a local pipeline in the Kirkuk area. Tarkalon police conducted a joint patrol with Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division and discovered a cache which consisted of several mortar rounds and ammunition for various weapons. An explosive ordnance disposal team destroyed the cache on site. Two local children led Iraqi soldiers and their Military Transition Team partners to a second cache west of the city. An EOD team collected a dozen various-sized explosive shells from the site.

February 7 - Soldiers from the 2nd and 4th Battalions of the 1st Iraqi Army Division and Coalition personnel seized and cleared a weapons cache in west Fallujah. The cache consisted of eight rockets, four hand grenades, an RPG launcher, two rifles, eight assorted artillery rounds, two propane tanks, ski masks and various radios.

February 8 - Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Iraqi Army Division found and reported a roadside bomb during operations. Explosives disposal personnel and Coalition troops arrived on scene and found a 155 mm South African manufactured artillery round with a radio attached as a detonation device. The bomb was safely recovered to be destroyed later.

February 8 - Personnel from the Iraqi 5th Strategic Infrastructure Battalion found and seized a cache, northwest of Kirkuk. The cache consisted of 13 122 mm mortar rounds, three 40 mm anti-personnel rounds, four 155 mm artillery rounds and an assortment of fuses. The munitions were taken into custody for later disposal.