Guardsmen Gomo & Rooney Instrumental In Amunition Find

The following information was published in the Thursday Evening Edition Of The St. Albans Messenger

Ammunition found in a weapons cache by Bravo Company soldiers in Iraq was confiscated north of Ramadi. Franklin County soldiers, Sgt. 1st Class Casey Gomo and Sgt. Max Rooney both of Fairfax, serving in the Vermont National Guard were instrumental in the discovery.

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Fairfax soldiers cited for involvement

Editor's Note: The following information was provided by Capt. Gregory C. Knight, TF1-172 ARMOR Battle Captain.

Bravo Company 1-109 Infantry attached to TF 1-172 (Task Force Saber), has again found a significant weapons cache during operations in the Jazeera area North of Ramadi. This is yet another success against the insurgents operating in the area, and B Co. continues to drive the insurgent influence out of our area of operations.

Jazeera (located in the northern part of Ramadi), had been hotly contested by insurgents, who used the area to intimidate the local populace, launch mortar and rocket attacks on coalition forces, hide weapons caches, and stage in preparation for attacks.

Through constant and steady pressure, B/l-109 IN has been able to squeeze the insurgents out of the area.

On Jan. 15,. Staff Sgt. Raymond Legrand, a Vermont resident and Sgt. Max Rooney of Fairfax, Vt., discovered a sizeable cache, in excess of 50 various artillery rounds, to the northeast of Ramadi in the Jazeera area. This cache found motivated the Soldiers of l B/109 IN to continue on their pursuit for weapons caches in their battle space.

Two days later the hard work and determination of the soldiers attached to B/MOB IN Scout Platoon paid off great dividends.

1st Lt. James Armstrong, Scout Platoon Leader from Hinesburg, Vt, knew they would find weapons hidden in the area, and his platoon was overdue to find a big cache. Based on the information provided by Staff Sgt. Legrand and Sgt. Rooney, he was sure of it. They had been successful in detaining suspected insurgents and developing relationships with Iraqi citizens throughput the area, but a weapons cache find would put another crimp in the insurgent supply pipeline and round out the unit success.

Sgt. 1st Class Casey Gomo, of Fairfax and a Scout Platoon Sergeant, had a suspicion that the area they were moving into held a cache. His suspicions were confirmed when he and the platoon discovered a cache of considerable size. After several hours of digging and searching, and a truckload of ordnance later, the cache find was complete.

The cache consisted of 2- 80mm"Air to Ground Rockets, 28-120mm mortar rounds, 2 – 130mm mortar rounds, 1 – 120mm mortar tube, from 155mm to 100mm, 36 ROM projectile fuses, 11 - 82mm mortar rounds, 1 - 122mnV projectile, 2 - 120mm used rocket motors, 12 various artillery fuses, 1 bag of 7.62mm NATO A131 link rounds, 1 barrel of loose 7.62mm rounds, 1 machine gun tripod, 1RPG sight, 1 hand grenade, 3 sticks of rocket fuel, 1 bucket of 7.62mm rounds, and 1RPK machine gun drum magazine.

"I am proud of my guys, they are just a great team" said 1st Lt. Armstrong. "This is another bunch of rounds off the streets of Ramadi." 1st Lt. Armstrong noted that after seven months in the area his Soldiers, and Sgt 1st Class Gomo in particular, had developed a sense when something was out of the ordinary.

This success follows other significant actions by B Co. 1-109 Infantry in the area. The Scout Platoon and other members of-the company have significantly influenced the level of insurgent activity in the Jazeera area, formerly a hotbed of insurgent activity. Executing a Task Force Saber plan to take and hold the area, B/l-109IN and their attached Engineers worked with 3-1-7 Iraqi Army to establish a strongpoint in central Jazeera, which is manned by Iraqi Army Soldiers. Since its completion, the strongpoint, which is covered 24/7 by the 3-1-7IA, has eliminated any effective operations by the insurgents in the area.

Task Force 1-172IA also implemented a plan to emplace concrete barriers along the road running parallel to the Euphrates River. This route provided insurgents with an easy and quick means of egress out of the area following their frequent mortar attacks on Camp Corregidor and Combat Outpost in eastern Ramadi. Once the barrier emplacement was complete, insurgents would have to use secondary roads past Coalition Force checkpoints to escape. Since completion, mortar attacks and other insurgent activity North of the Euphrates River has become minimal, and ineffective.

Capt. Lou Gansell, B/l-109 IN Company Commander of Williamsport, Pa., recently spoke with a local sheik, who expressed appreciation on behalf of local citizens that insurgents no longer held influence in the area. The sheik was so pleased that he moved back to the area from Baghdad.

"The Soldiers of Team Cobra take extreme pride in conducting searches and finding these weapons caches. It's extremely satisfying knowing we are putting a hurt on the insurgent logistics train, and saving American lives and equipment in the process," said Capt. Lou Gansell.

The joint efforts of the Task Force, B/1-109IN, their Engineers, and the 3-1-7IA again highlight that the 2/28 BCT is having a positive impact in the area. Their efforts are the foundation for a free Al-Anbar Province, and a democratic Iraq.