Busted: Major Thug Supply Depot

Marines from 3/2 and 2nd Recon working Operation Rubicon in Mushin, Iraq, west of Habbaniyah, found the secret thug stash of 500 mortar rounds, 100 artillery rounds, 130 RPG's, 120 hand grenades, 22 mines, 10 mortar tubes, 20 rifles/machine guns, 18 sets of body armor and various other items such as bino's and bayonets.

“This area was definitely an insurgent stronghold,” said Cpl. Brandon M. Stair, 25, a team leader assigned to 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, who was among the group that discovered the cache sites.

The insurgents, Stair said, had stored “stuff for the long fight, and they had stuff for tomorrow.”

One cache yielded 500 blasting caps, each one capable of detonating a single improvised explosive device. Another cache yielded mortars. Another was a stash of sniper rifles.

“Every cache was a separate set-up,” explained 35-year-old Gunnery Sgt. Kenneth A. Westgate, assigned to 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion.

“We usually find just mortars or just guns. These had a mix of everything.” Sgt. Joshua D. Cross, a 26-year-old reconnaissance team leader, said.

The Marines also made a friend. A local Iraqi came up to them and thanked them for their efforts in clearing the community infestation of thugmites.

Joshua D Cross said. “He was real grateful for what we were doing there.”

This is how the War against IslamoFascists is won: one satisfied customer at a time, one day in the long war.

DefenseLink News: News Article