Published: August 31, 2006
2nd Recon Battalion Marines Stir the Hornet's Nest in Operation Rubicon
By Gunnery Sgt. Mark Oliva, Regimental Combat Team 5 
Marines from B Company's 3rd Platoon stand next to one of the many weapons' caches they dug from the ground during Operation Rubicon in Mushin, Iraq, west of Habbaniyah. The Recon Marines unearthed hundreds of mortars, artillery shells, rifles, machines guns, ammunition and improvised explosive device-making materials. Marines found so many caches, they said they could barely make it 100 meters before discovering another buried weapons' site.
Photo: Regimental Combat Team 5 |
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Aug. 29, 2006) - Marines from 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion kicked over the hornet's nest during Operation Rubicon in Mushin, Iraq, west of Habbaniyah. What they found underneath was a lot deadlier than a stinger.
They battled insurgents in running gunfights lasting nearly an entire day and scored hundreds of weapons finds in a several-day operation.
Recon Marines, working in support of 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5, uncovered hundreds of weapons, artillery and mortar rounds, improvised explosive device-making material, small arms and ammunition.
In all, they recovered more than 500 mortars rounds, nearly 100 artillery rounds, more than 130 rocket-propelled grenades, more than 120 grenades, 22 mines, 10 mortar tubes, 20 rifles and machine guns, 18 sets of body armor and various other items including binoculars and bayonets.
"This area was definitely an insurgent stronghold," said Cpl. Brandon M. Stair, a 25-year-old team leader from Utica, Ohio, assigned to the battalion's B Company. "They had stuff for the long fight and they had stuff for tomorrow. There were initiator systems ready to go."
Recon Marines found themselves in the thick of the hive from almost the moment they set foot into their operating zone.
Soon after inserting, they found a lone berm, which Marines scanned, according to Stair. They got a hit indicating something was buried underneath. They didn't dig far to find buried weapons.
"It was big," said Sgt. Joshua D. Cross, a 26-year-old team leader from Forestville, N.Y. "It was about 12-feet long and two-feet wide. It had a disgusting amount of stuff."
Among other weapons, Marines uncovered rocket-propelled grenades and a complete mortar system at the first cache site. It was a sign of things to come.
Gunnery Sgt. Kenneth A. Westgate, a platoon sergeant for B Company, said all his team leaders are second-tour veterans for Iraq. They've learned to read the land and find the sites that harbor weapons caches. Their experience paid out.
"The whole platoon can walk and pick out sites," said Westgate, a 35-year-old from East Wareham, Mass. "They've gotten to that level of ability where about 50 percent of the time, they're right."
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