Joint Search of Farmland Yields Mortar Round

Defend America News ^ | Staff Sgt. Mark Wojciechowski

[SandRat]

U.S. Army Sgt. Steven Gonzales, a combat engineer assigned to E Company, 1-68 Combined Arms Battalion, unearths a 155mm round buried in a field in south Muqdadiyah, Iraq, during Operation Dirty Harry, Feb. 20, 2006. U.S Army photo by Staff Sgt. Mark Wojciechowski More Photos
Operation Dirty Harry
Joint Search of Farmland Yields Mortar Round
By U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Mark Wojciechowski 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment MUQDADIYAH, Iraq, Feb. 27, 2006 — As part of continuous efforts to thwart anti-Iraqi forces and find hidden weapons caches, Operation “Dirty Harry” recently searched a neighborhood and farmlands in south Muqdadiya in the Diyala Province. "U.S. Army Sgt. Steven Gonzales, a combat engineer assigned to E Company, 1-68 Combined Arms Battalion, unearths a 155mm round buried in a field in south Muqdadiyah, Iraq, during Operation Dirty Harry, Feb. 20, 2006." U.S. Army Sgt. Muriel Orlando Droke The joint operation included U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 4th Infantry Division’s 1-68 Combined Arms Battalion, U.S. Air Force dog handlers from the 35th Security Forces Squadron and Iraqi army forces. The troops dismounted their vehicles and tactically moved into the neighborhood, led by the Iraqi army soldiers. The neighborhood children smiled and waved as the patrol moved through the side streets. The Iraqi soldiers approached the homes and explained the intent of their search to the residents, while U.S. forces pulled security on the streets.	After the Iraqi army departed the homes, the Air Force dog teams were called in to do a “once over” to ensure there was not any explosive residue present. When the last home was thoroughly searched, yielding no contraband, the joint forces assembled on line to sweep through an area of farmland behind the neighborhood. U.S. Army Sgt. Steven Gonzales, a combat engineer from the 4th Infantry Division’s 1-68 Combined Arms Battalion, swept the field with a mine detector when its alarm sounded. “We were using this mine detector to search for any caches,” said Gonzales. “The mine detector called me over,” said U.S. Army Spc. Peter Mendiola, a Guam native. “He said he had a metal of some sort. “I dug it up; it happened to be a pretty big mortar round.” “I think the [Iraqi Army] is performing very well; they don’t have a problem taking charge and moving in the front,” said U.S. Army Sgt. Muriel Orlando Droke of Company C, 1-68 Combined Arms Battalion, and a Sacramento, Calif., native. “We just pulled security for them.”

[EricT.]

“The mine detector called me over,” said U.S. Army Spc. Peter Mendiola, a Guam native. “He said he had a metal of some sort.

They're still digging up mortar rounds regularly on Guam, too.

[FreePaul]

...it happened to be a pretty big mortar round.

How big is a "pretty big" mortar round. I've seen a twelve inch mortar but not the rounds. I've heard of 600mm and 800mm mortars. I'd call those pretty big.

The article is not very well written. Too bad since the subject is interesting.

[TXnMA]

If that's Iraqi "farmland", I'd hate to see what they consider an uncleared patch of brushland... ;-)