Tribute to the God of the Sky Traditional Geocache
mtn-man: I'm going to go ahead and archive this cache then.
Thanks for what you all are doing over there. Don't think your hard work is not appreciated. I'm glad to see you are having some fun with geocaches over there too.
Keep up the good work and God Bless America!!!!!
mtn-man
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Tribute to the God of the Sky
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Difficulty:
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(regular)
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MGRS: 38S LF 32414 18658 Elevation: 244m
This cache is dedicated to the soldiers of 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment. The FIRST STRIKE battalion is currently enjoying a year-long excursion to the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Our road here was a long one, having begun 900kms to the south in the Kuwaiti desert during March of 2003. The weeks that followed brought this battalion north through a series of contested Iraqi cities - An Najef, Karbala, and Southern Baghdad. Our final destination was the historic city of Mosul, along the banks of the Tigris River.
Mosul is Iraq's third largest city, with approximately 1.2 million inhabitants. It is situated some 400km north of Baghdad on the west bank of Tigris, close to the ruined Assyrian city of Nineveh. The population of Mosul is principally Kurdish, but with a large minority of Aramaic-speaking Christian Assyrians, and a smaller minority of Turkomans. An ethnically diverse city, Mosul has the highest proportion of Christians of all the Iraqi cities, and contains several interesting old churches. The ruins of Nineveh with its impressive Assyrian bulls statues are worth a visit, if nothing due to its Biblical significance.
This cache is located on an American base south of Mosul, which is very convenient because you are not likely to get blown up while caching there. Despite its seeming security, I recommend caution during this and all Iraqi caching adventures. Hopefully, this cache survives Iraq’s second largest post-war industry – looting – to be found by some erstwhile geocacher.
The cache is an OD green ammo tube, the end of which screws off. This cache contains a log book, although visitors are encouraged to contribute items to the cache. I have included eight numbered FIRST STRIKE cache cards. Finally, please return the cache canister to its original hiding configuration.
I have chosen this particular site because as a military intelligence specialist this sort of place makes my heart beat faster.
In the next few months, this cache will be dutifully taken over by my successor. As the locals say, “Inshah Allah.”
First Strike!
REGULATOR 6
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Rknzvar gur ohfvarff raq bs guvf nve-qrsrafr zneiry