Troops Uncover Uniform Stash

Team Infidel

Forum Spin Doctor
Colorado Springs Gazette
February 5, 2007
Baghdad warehouse held lots of U.S. gear
By Tom Roeder, The Gazette
Soldiers from Fort Carson on a recent Baghdad patrol uncovered a huge stash of American uniforms and equipment at a warehouse that could have been used to disguise scores of insurgents for a sneak attack.
The 2nd Brigade Combat Team has had troops in Baghdad and Ramadi since October, and since December has been on the offensive. The soldiers have been countered by an increasingly sophisticated enemy, which in the northern city of Karbala late last month used American and Iraqi uniforms to sneak onto a base and launch a deadly attack that left five Americans dead.
On Jan. 29 in Baghdad, 2nd BCT soldiers and their Iraqi Army counterparts uncovered the gear needed to launch a far larger, and potentially deadlier, attack.
“There was enough gear in there to outfit a battalion,” the brigade’s Capt. James Ojeda said in a news release from Iraq.
The work to uncover the equipment started when a senior sergeant from the brigade spotted the American military items for sale in an open market in eastern Baghdad. Troops moved quickly to gather information about how the equipment was being sold and whether more was stored elsewhere.
A search of the neighborhood led soldiers to the warehouse, with enough equipment to stock a stateside Army surplus store. The stash included 200 pairs of military boots, 150 helmets, 150 flak vests, 75 armor plates, remote control for a roadside bomb, meals ready to eat, and a variety of uniforms, including U.S. uniforms, the Army said.
Ojeda said the equipment in the warehouse appeared to be in storage for later use rather than being prepared for sale.
Brigade spokesman Maj. Sean Ryan said where the gear was stolen from remains under investigation.
In pictures sent by the brigade, some of the loot includes “chocolate chip” desert camouflage uniforms used by American troops in the 1991 Persian Gulf War and now used by Iraqi Army units.
U.S. forces and other coalition nations have spent millions of dollars outfitting the rebuilt Iraqi Army, but reports from Iraq have shown heavy corruption that has put everything from weapons to fuel on the black market.
Ryan said a key is letting black marketers know that the military equipment will wind up in the hands of the insurgency and will cost Iraqi lives.
“The entire command here is extremely pleased with the finding, and we are using this as an education campaign to help Iraqis understand why selling of uniforms is not appropriate in the aftermath of what happened recently,” Ryan said, making reference to the Karbala attack.
 
They also make dead on knock ups here in the big chicken that are ripstop and all complete with perfect recreations of unit and branch insignia. Complete set of ACU's with my name, rank, unit and flags for less than $30 USD, less with increased volume. Now look at the shared borders and do the math folks.
 
A battalion in the United States Army is also larger than 200 Troops (200 pairs of military boots) even if using only 150 helmets or 150 flak vests with 75 armor plates.

One would think Captain Ojeda would know such.
 
Or some quartermaster or someone trying to make a quick buck.

That's not completely beyond the realm of truth either. In Vietnam the latest shipment of made in USA cigarettes was being offered by street vendors long before they reached the shelves in the PX.

But in this case I certainly hope not.
 
It's extremely possible. In fact, it happens on a pretty regular basis. I can go to a market in Seoul and buy all kinds of American military stuff... and they're actually real. Not knockoffs... because it's actually cheaper to get the real ones.
 
As a kid in Colorado Springs we could also get ordnance from the soldiers at Fort Carson. I threw my first live WP grenade when I was 16.
 
A battalion in the United States Army is also larger than 200 Troops (200 pairs of military boots) even if using only 150 helmets or 150 flak vests with 75 armor plates.

One would think Captain Ojeda would know such.

depends on the battalion Gator. My BN had 150 soldiers.
 
Hey bulldogg, remenber when we found that crate in the field full of m16's and grenades? Just stashed in a ditch in a field.

I hope they don't find it is one of ours selling to the damn enemy
 
yes, yes I do remember... one of our uncles was a supply sgt in vietnam who made a killing on the black market god rest his soul but he never sold to the enemy just to GI's who were unable to procure their daily needs through regular channels.
 
As a kid in Colorado Springs we could also get ordnance from the soldiers at Fort Carson. I threw my first live WP grenade when I was 16.
Holy crap

Hey bulldogg, remenber when we found that crate in the field full of m16's and grenades? Just stashed in a ditch in a field.
:shock:
 
The article mentions the "chocolate chip" type camoflage as being found in that warehouse.

When I went to Viet Nam over the summer, I checked out some military surplus places (for unique Communist souvenirs) and they had piles upon piles upon piles of the "chocolate chip" and "three color" desert patterns.

My guess is that US retailers started liquidating their stocks as the US military shifted away from the old BDU patterns. As a result, the international markets are just swamped with them.
 
Yeah, the kids and the cops in Colorado Springs knew but our parents were clueless. We had a copy of the anarchist's cookbook and thankfully it was before the days of Columbine, Timothy McVeigh and 9/11 or we might have gotten in trouble for the stuff we did out in some of the nearby farmer's fields.

The most noise came when a kid from my school turned himself into a crater with the mortar round some E-3 from Ft. Carson had given him in lieu of his bill for the newspapers of the previous month. Stupid kid carried it with him like a good luck charm, hit some ice, fell down... BOOM.
 
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