549th MP Company Provides Security During Operation Lion Hunt

Photo By Staff Sgt. Sj Duga | Operation Lion Hunt combined Iraqi Army and Iraqi police forces which was developed to seek out insurgents and illegal weapons in Mosul, Iraq.  

MOSUL, IRAQ

05.09.2006

Courtesy Story

345th Public Affairs Detachment

MOSUL, Iraq - The Iraqi Police and Iraq Army executed Operation Lion Hunt in conjunction with the 549th Military Police Company and other Coalition forces, who provided assistance and security in Mosul, Iraq.

Operation Lion Hunt was developed to search and seek out insurgents, illegal weapons, and other harmful combatant devises that could possibly bring harm to Coalition forces and their efforts to provide a safer and more secure Iraq.

"The operations are primarily run by Iraqi Police and the Iraqi Army, they are looking for weapons and other devises that could be used against us," said Spc. Nestor Montanez, gunner, 1st Squad (Night Stalkers), 1st Platoon, 549th Military Police Company, and native of Providence, R.I. "They sweep an entire area going from house to house and usually cover a few neighborhoods at a time."

According to Staff Sgt. David Wolfe, squad leader, 1st Squad (Night Stalkers), 1st Platoon, of the 549th MP Co, and native of Chesapeake, Va., even the best planned missions don't always go as planned, but most look at the positives in missions like this.

"We were in the Altshera and Saddam neighborhoods of Mosul providing an overwatch for the IP's and the IA's while they conducted searches of houses within the area," Wolfe said. "We also provided them direct assistance and guidance if they needed it throughout the mission."

"It was fairly quiet on this mission, we had little to no contact from the insurgent forces," said Wolfe. "It virtually took some of the known hostile neighborhoods and actually made them some of the safest for a day in the Mosul area, as we believe someone tipped off the local bad guys,"

According to Wolfe the mission went off pretty good. It showed us that the IP's and IA's can lock down a section of the city when they need to, and I think it is only going to get better as time goes on where they wont need our assistance at all, and they will be able to run these missions on their own, which is the goal here.

"Today was actually a good day for locating items and suspects, we actually found some detonators and other restricted items from a few suspected insurgents that are now in custody" said Wolfe.

According to Sgt. Thomas Bates, Charlie team leader, 1st Squad (Night Stalkers), 1st Platoon, 549th MP Co, and native of Cambridge, Ohio, as the goal of having the IP and IA maintain their own areas and neighborhoods, it's uplifting to hear that they are making great improvements, and they are operating a lot smoother since they started these missions.

"Judging from the last time we went out with the IP's and IA's, they are actually doing a lot better with providing inner and outer security, as well as the searching house for weapons and devises," said Bates.

"I was here a little over 2 years ago in this exact same area, and I"d say that Mosul has improved tremendously over that time," said Bates. "Missions like Operation Lion Hunt will only help with that progression and ultimately make a better Iraq in the long run."

• Date Taken: 05.09.2006
• Date Posted: 05.09.2006 15:59
• Story ID: 6322
• Location: MOSUL, IQ