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Latest on 54th Engineer Battalion in Iraq

Bagdhad may not have fallen yet, but occupation, peacekeeping, reconstruction and humanitarian work is already under way in the area controlled by the 54th Engineer Battalion, some 20 miles SouthWest of the Iraqi capital.

The 54th Engineer, currently encamped on the West Bank of the Euphrates river is tasked with securing the area around two key bridges - one a float bridge set up by the 299th Engineer Company (the first such enterprise since WWII) that connect to a main supply route to the U.S.-controlled Bagdhad airport.

This involves not just manning checkpoints and traffic control points but extensive cordon and search operations for fedayeen and arms caches, demolition of arms and ammunition, removing and burying corpses, and forging relationships with the frightened local population.

It's such a big task that even troops from the battalion's Headquarters Company are being sent out on missions to knock down doors and look for weapons.

Yesterday soldiers at a checkpoint received a letter in Arabic and broken English asking for assistance with water and for permission to turn on an electrical pump.

"We are Iraqi peepl" it began "in this place. We say to you no for war yes for peace.... There is no electricity, we have animals and trees some water for grow and the people would kindly thank you."

According to Sgt Ricardo Beauchamp, 44, an intelligence NCO from Puerto Rico, the original source of the letter is unknown. But as a result of getting it the 54th is setting up a special Civil Affairs team.

At the same time the battalion's headquarters company has been dealing with the unit's biggest single find of enemy munitions so far: a massive anti-aircraft artillery battery abandoned by Iraqi troops. According to Sgt First Class Richard Jensen 39 of Portland Oregon, a 21 year veteran who fought in the first Gulf War, the find included "at least two or three thousand high caliber shells as well as gunsights, surveying equipment and six gun barrels. But no guns.- which makes me curious as to where they are."

The barrels were more than 10 feet long, and "the shells were about two feet long and at least 4 inches in diameter." "It's pretty amazing" the Sergeant told the Post, "they had the technology to rock our world. They probably got hit early and moved on." "

There were some bullet holes in the mounds" where the guns had been mounted "but most things were intact. And we found manuals with pictures of all our planes."

In the buildings between the mounds topped with concrete where the guns would have been mounted, the troops found not just schematics on how to engage aircraft (in English) but also inspirational posters up in the battery with English messages like "Don't let stress get the better of you" below pictures of tropical landscapes.

The shells and tubes "which were still in their packing grease in their shipping crates" were "marked in English with high explosive, flak, tracer etc." And many of them had the word "Jordan" stenciled on the side. The sergeant's platoon in the end decided not to blow up the find.

"I couldn't blow it. I've only got a limited amount of C4 and if you did blow up all this [the explosion would be so big] you'd have to cordon off a 4km square. The shells would cook off and go everywhere like bullets. And we'd have to clear out all the civilians who live there."

Scores of civilians live less than 75 yards from the battery. So the sergeant contacted the Explosive Ordnance Division further South for assistance.

But he and his men enjoyed their day. "I loved it. That's what I'm here for. We're support troops but we're 12 Bravo engineers trained in demolition. I know the stuff I do now (supervising the hauling of fuel, ammo and food) is a crucial part of our mission here but I'd rather be out there clearing buildings and that kind of stuff."