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| Iraq |
| Operation Rogue Thunder: Outpost Established, Cache Discovered |
| 2007-07-29 |
| Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers along with Iraqi Army troops conducted Operation Rogue Thunder, establishing a new Coalition outpost in the western Baghdad neighborhood and uncovering a weapons cache July 24. The new COP, Coalition Outpost Lion, was established by the 3rd Battalion, 5th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division with assistance from 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment. The U.S. troops assisted the Iraqi Army in building the fortified position intended to reinforce the Iraqi Army’s presence and boost security in the troubled Mansour District of western Baghdad as part of Operation Rogue Thunder. The operation also led to the discovery of a weapons cache. Seventy-seven artillery rounds were discovered in a hole in the ground during a combined search conducted by U.S. and Iraqi forces. An explosive ordnance disposal team determined the explosives could not all be removed safely. They conducted a controlled detonation of the cache on site. Soldiers from 1-64 Armor continue to work in conjunction with the 3-5-6th IA to man and safeguard the new outpost. COP Lion houses sixty Iraqi Army soldiers and is reinforced with guard towers overlooking the neighborhood. Security forces will use the compound to provide greater security to the Jamia area. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #5 Rogue Thunder... Nice! If one of them touches you, they absorb your X-Man powers. |
| Posted by: Free Radical 2007-07-29 20:46 |
| #4 perhaps they share my opinion that innocent civilians living nearby woulda noticed that cache being implaced and reported it. Not doing so makes damage to their own living rooms very acceptable collateral damage? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-07-29 10:49 |
| #3 77 arty rounds? That's a substantial boom. Don't know the Jamia 'hood, but Mansour in general doesn't have a lot of wide open spaces, I think. Kinda curious how they can blow something this big in an area like that. |
| Posted by: Verlaine 2007-07-29 02:32 |
| #2 I beleive a blast blanket is used to minimize flying debris when blasting rock walls for roads and quarrys. I beleive they are very heavy and have to be pinned. In addition the blast is usually spread over a larger area and the debris isn't localized metal shards. All of the above to say that I suspect that Kevlar blankets would have limited use for eod disposal. |
| Posted by: Throger Thains8048 2007-07-29 01:46 |
| #1 I've kind of wondered if, when blowing a cache in an urban area, or where you would like to limit collateral damage, if it would be worth it to get a thick, heavy, kevlar blanket to drape over the munitions. The idea would be that it would take a lot of the more dangerous frag, and would just flop up into the air before falling down again. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-07-29 00:26 |