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thedrifter
11-27-05, 07:39 AM
November 27, 2005
Curiosity pays off
By Eric Mayes
The Daily Item

AR RAMADI, Iraq — Keen observation and persistence paid off recently for members of Bravo Company of the 109th Infantry, Williamsport, when they discovered a sizeable stockpile of weapons hidden in a field.

Sgt. Brian Packer of Lock Haven noticed what he thought was a mortar tube. It wasn't, but his curiosity led him and a group from his unit to keep poking around and they turned up what military officials have termed an extremely significant weapons cache just north of Ramadi.

It was buried in the middle of field in a very rural area across the Euphrates River from the city of Ramadi, about four kilometers east of Camp Ramadi where Sgt. Packer, a National Guardsman with the 109th Infantry, is stationed.

The find was so large that it garnered notice from Col. John Gronski, commander of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, who called it an extremely significant find, adding that such discoveries have begun to squeeze the local insurgency and contribute to a relatively calm period recently in and around Ramadi. He singled Sgt. Packer out for his role in locating the cache.

The sergeant shrugged off any accolades and insisted he was just doing his job.

Such finds are important because they whittle away the insurgents' arsenal.

"The more we find the more lives we save," said Lt. Scott Williamson of Scranton, also with the 109th.

For Sgt. Packer Nov. 16 started out like any other day.

"They're building a strong point over there for the Iraqi Army," he said, referring to the sector patrolled by his unit. "We were over-watching the strong point. It was early, about 8:30 a.m. and it gets cold over here at night, I'm getting older, so I climbed up on the third floor to soak up the morning sun." While there he scanned the nearby fields.

That's when he spotted what he thought was a mortar tube. He, along with Sgt. Brandon Traister, of Camden, N.J.; Spc. Brian Sharp, of Elizabethtown; Spc. Nathan Lynn and Spc. Milton Ortiz, both of Williamsport, set out to investigate.

"We walked down to where we thought the mortar tube was and kicked it," said Sgt. Packer. "It turned out to be an irrigation tube." But, something about the field still seemed wrong.

In the middle of the lush green plot of irrigated soil there was a patch of dead brush on the bank of an irrigation ditch where it should have been green.

"I pulled off this big dead sage bush and started kicking the dirt away and found an €¦ artillery round," said Sgt. Packer. "We all started screaming like school girls. We thought it was an IED. We all scattered." What it turned out to be, was a huge stockpile of weapons that included artillery rounds, mines, mortars, missiles, RPGs, plastic explosives, cell phones which are used to detonate IEDs and detonation cord.

"You name it, it was there," said Sgt. Packer.

At least 15 of the rounds were already set up as IEDs, he said: "Just waiting to be planted on the roadside." The following day the platoon turned up another cache and within days led Marines to another across the Euphrates.

According to Lt. Williamson, the steady stream of discoveries has begun to put pressure on the insurgents' as has his unit's constant activity in their sector.

"Every time we go out we're making contact, we push the envelope a little bit more," agreed Sgt. Packer. "If you're not taking the people out that are shooting at you you're not doing anything." The difficulty of this war is separating the insurgents from the pack, the two men agreed.

"We've probably shaken hands with more insurgents," Sgt. Packer said, nodding his head.

"That's the hard part," agreed Lt. Williamson. "Not knowing who is who." "The only time we know is when they are shooting at us," said Sgt. Packer.

Company B of the 109th Infantry, Williamsport, typically runs dismounted patrols in a sector across the Euphrates from Ramadi.

"We're trying to flush out the insurgents," said Sgt. Packer. "Plus it's a presence to let the locals know we're here."

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For more information on the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, which includes the 109th Infantry and thousands of troops from Pennsylvania check the web at ironsoldiers.army.mil.

Ellie