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Defeating IEDs

Jul-30-2008 » Filed Under: 56th SBCT

By the 56th SBCT, 28th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office

No longer will the clash of striking swords be heard on the battlefield. No longer will plumes of white gun smoke rise from a volley of bayonets, making the line of troops barely visible. Gone are the days of the massive linear battlefields that forged our country’s history.

And while it is true the new non-linear battlefield is not as cluttered, that doesn’t make it any less deadly.

Enter the world of the improvised explosive device – today’s biggest tactical threat to U.S. troops in the Global War on Terror, which has claimed the lives of hundreds of service members.

But since any good offense requires a great defense, more than 50 members of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard’s 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team recently participated in an intense, three-day IED defeat training course at Fort Indiantown Gap, aimed at turning the tide against this new tactical weapon.

“This training is going to save lives,” said Henry Martinez, the class instructor from the Counter Explosive Hazard Center, Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.

Martinez is a medically retired combat engineer who served in Iraq in 2004 and 2005 where he was the head instructor of an IED class.

With the 56th SBCT scheduled to depart for Iraq soon, Martinez knows he needs to train the Soldiers so they are able to teach the rest of their units in preparation for their tour.

“I’m glad this [training] was done early so the Soldiers have more time to train their units and be more prepared,” said Martinez, whose course centered around two days in the classroom and a one-day culminating field exercise.

Soldiers learned how important it was to recall minuscule changes in their surroundings and the latest methods of IED markers, such as Iraqi females, including men dressed as females..

“We were taught to look for anything that was unnatural within the environment,” said Sgt. Corey Hatton, of Bravo Troop, 2/104th Cavalry. “This is probably the most vital class I’ve had so far. I believe it should be taught to every Soldier.” .

Their classroom time was also spent learning about the various types of IEDs (package type, vehicle-borne and suicide bomb), driving techniques and various other tactical skills involved in facing the improvised devices, said Sgt. 1st Class Charles Deal, of Bravo Company, 1/112th Infantry.

“We are being placed in three different scenarios to implement what we learned in the classroom,” said Deal.

The Soldiers were broken into three groups; each was given the task of camouflaging false missiles, buried mines, pressure plates and mortars into the training field, simulating live IEDs. Once hidden, each group challenged the other to perform five-meter scans of their field area in search of their devices.

“IEDs are the number one choice working for the enemy and that’s why this class is the most important before going to Iraq”, said Martinez.


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