Military working dog handlers build skills with EOD

Photo By Staff Sgt. Anne Henry | Explosive ordnance disposal technicians observe military working dog handlers searching for simulated improvised explosive devices March 24 at Camp Hansen. The training prepares the handlers for possible scenarios encountered in a deployed environment. The EOD technicians are with 9th Engineer Support Battalion, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force. The military working dog handlers are with 3rd Law Enforcement Battalion, III Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group, III MEF.  

CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, JAPAN

03.24.2014

Story by Pfc. Abbey Perria 

III Marine Expeditionary Force   

CAMP HANSEN, Okinawa - Military working dog handlers with 3rd Law Enforcement Battalion received improvised explosive device detection training March 24 at Camp Hansen.

The training prepared the handlers to operate without the assistance of their military working dogs during scenarios which replicated operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, relying solely on the skills taught by EOD technicians with 9th Engineer Support Battalion.

While military working dogs are trained to find explosives, they are not capable of locating all types of IEDs. To compensate for this, the handlers learned how EOD technicians locate potential IEDs.
“Today, we held a basic IED brief for K-9 handlers who are preparing to deploy to Afghanistan,” said Staff Sgt. Jarret Garibaldi, an EOD technician with 9th ESB, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force.

The training began with a classroom briefing, which familiarized the Marines with IED components, emplacement tactics and techniques for their construction.

“We went through some Iraq-style devices as well as Afghanistan-style (remote control) devices,” said Garibaldi. “(We also covered) basic pressure switch devices, command-pulled devices and an RC device hooked up to a propane tank with simulated explosives wrapped around it.”

The working dogs cannot easily detect devices made of clay or metal, according to Cpl. Shawn Klingforth, a military working dog handler with 3rd LE Bn., III Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group, III MEF.

In cases such as these, a metal detector can warn Marines of an object that could be a hidden IED, according to Garibaldi.

“They have their own ways of finding these devices and utilizing their dogs, but they don’t necessarily know how engineers and infantry apply these tactics,” said Garibaldi.

After classroom instruction, the military working dog handlers went to an IED lane for hands-on training with a metal detector. The EOD technicians emplaced six simulated IEDs along a dirt and gravel path for the handlers to correctly identify. “This was a great visual lane for me to go through,” said Sgt. Stanley Chapter, a military working dog handler with 3rd LE Bn. “Being a dog handler, we search for IEDs with our dogs. Today was really an eye-opener for me.”

Looking for evidence of disturbed ground or noticing a possible choke point, or small path, were potential danger areas the Marines learned to focus on.

“This lane training taught me how to spot things that the dog may have missed,” said Sgt. Stanley Chapter, a military working dog handler with the battalion. “I feel like we all really benefited from today.”

The training left the Marines confident in their newfound IED-detection skills, allowing them to be prepared and ready for future deployments, according to Garibaldi.

“It will most definitely benefit the Marines when they are in a deployed in environment,” said Garibaldi. “We have found that every time we have been involved with Marines in preparation for deployment, it benefits (their survivability).”

• Date Taken: 03.24.2014
• Date Posted: 03.26.2014 04:48
• Story ID: 122573
• Location: CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, JP
• Hometown: EAGLE RIVER, WI, US
• Hometown: HASTINGS, PA, US
• Hometown: LAS VEGAS, NV, US
• Hometown: NAPA, CA, US