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Ghost Soldiers discover secret room, find hidden cache
By Sgt. Paula Taylor, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs
Mar 3, 2007 - 6:15:45 PM
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Garryowen troopers Pfc. Ryan Kennedy and Pfc. Raul Alderete, infantrymen, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, kneel above the hole leading to one of the largest weapons caches discovered in Mosul, Iraq, since the arrival of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division in November 2006. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Shen O, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment)
Blackanthem Military News, MOSUL, Iraq - Two Garryowen troops assigned to Ghost Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, each received a brigade coin March 1 for a raid conducted Feb. 9 that netted one of the largest weapons caches in the Ninewa Province.

The cache, which was located in a walled-off compound, was discovered by Pfc. Ryan Kennedy and Spc. Isaiah Johnson, both infantrymen assigned to A Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment.

"Our battalion got [information] that there was a weapons cache in one of the lots [in the city]," said Kennedy, a Pequannock Township, N.J. native. "They called us up. We actually didn't think we were rolling out until later that day."

Kennedy's platoon arrived in the suspected area and began taking small arms fire from a mosque across the street, he said. After they secured the area, they, with the help of Iraqi Army troops, were able to find and detain 10 suspects before moving into the actual compound where the cache was believed to be located.

"We pushed forward to continue searching another lot after another platoon moved up to secure the detainees," he said. "There were four garages and a small building with two rooms in it; one was like a tool room and the other was like a living area. We cleared the building and the garages."

After a brief search by 1st Squad, 1st Platoon Soldiers of the immediate area, their supervisor, Sgt. Shen O, split his team up for a more comprehensive search.

"Me and Specialist Johnson went back to the room that was like a living area and started busting all the floor tiles," Kennedy said.

"We saw a sink and tried turning it on," Johnson, a Chicago native, explained. "It didn't turn on. There was a stove next to it. At the time, we didn't think anything of it."

The two continued busting floor tiles to see if the ground would give way.

"Once we busted all the tiles, we started getting frustrated that we weren't finding anything," Kennedy said. "We went and got Lieutenant Miller, our executive officer, and asked him if he had any ideas. I busted the sink that was in there and Lieutenant Miller kicked over the sink base."

After the sink was knocked out of the way, the three began taking a closer look at the possibilities.

"Once we broke the sink, we saw there weren't any pipes under it," Johnson explained. "The XO noticed there was no grout between the tiles."

"We could tell something was wrong with it because the tiles under it were real loose," Kennedy added. "I hit it with a sledgehammer and it fell through. You could clearly see some [rocket-propelled grenades], some bags and different types of munitions. The opening was only about one foot by one foot. You had to squeeze in, and then there was a narrow crawl space that you could barely kneel in. That led to an open room that was about seven foot, by seven foot, by seven foot. We were overjoyed (to find the cache). All these months we weren't finding anything. We were going on raids, searching vehicles. We were all so excited. When we saw it, we just started yelling out, 'Hey, we found it, we found the cache!'"

After discovering the secret room beneath the sink, a member of the explosive ordnance disposal team, who was waiting nearby, was called into the compound to check the hole and cache room for dangers. Once he deemed it was safe to enter, other troops began arriving to assist in the removal of the items.

"There was everything you could name in there," Johnson excitedly recalled. "Missiles you shoot helicopters with, grenades, mines, wiring, cell phones, tons of AK-47s and ammo. It took us several hours to get it all out. It made us feel happy finding that stuff, knowing they can't use the weapons against us. It was sneaky how they had it set up, with the sink and the stove. They tried to make it look like it was a kitchen. We put the clues together and we figured it out. It made us really happy. We were proud to have found all this stuff and help get it all out," Johnson bragged.

Some of the items included in the day's find were 30 blasting caps, about 250,000 rounds of small arms ammunition, 25 grenade fuses, 37 high-explosive anti-tank weapons, 100 unfused grenades, one Iranian PG-7 grenade rocket, six Chinese 75mm APERS rocket fuses, 13 French 68mm SPAMV rockets, 72 rocket motors, 10 Iraqi 40mm rockets, 221 mortars, 300 various fuses, 40 pounds of propellant, 50 pounds of detonation cord, 13 PG-7 launchers, 17 AK-47 assault rifles, one Russian machine gun, two sniper rifles, one PKC machine gun, 40 million Iraqi Dinar, more than 400 fake identification cards, and various Motorola radios, including one Iraqi police radio believed to have belonged to an IP who had been previously kidnapped and subsequently killed.

"People can say I found it, but everyone was searching that day," Kennedy modestly admitted. "We were all working really hard. Everyone was covered in sweat even though it wasn't that hot. It was back-breaking labor. There were other finds, too. They found Iraqi Dinar and fake IDs in another area. Everyone worked hard that day, it wasn't just me and Johnson."

In recognition for their part in the discovery, Johnson and Kennedy were given a 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Coin of Excellence, which was presented to them by their first sergeant.

"It was a large cache," Said 1st Sgt. Eric Volk. "They knew it had to be right under their feet. These guys are very determined to have a positive impact in this area. You could see it in their faces afterward. They knew they finally made a difference. These troops had just recently lost their platoon sergeant (Sgt. 1st Class Russell Borea). This is one big thing they have done since then. They've got a lot of pride, they're very strong guys and I think they feel like they've finally achieved that big step against the insurgency. I couldn't ask for any better troops than what I've got."


http://www.blackanthem.com/News/U_S_Military_19/Ghost_Soldiers_discover_secret_room_find_hidden_cach...