32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team takes on No. 1 killer

Photo By Lt. Col. Deanna Bague | Guardsmen from the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team practice defense procedures during improvised explosive device defeat training at McGregor Range, N.M.  

MCGREGOR RANGE, UNITED STATES

03.04.2009

Story by Maj. Deanna Bague 

Fort Bliss Public Affairs Office

MCGREGOR RANGE, N.M. – Guardsmen from the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team trained on how to defeat improvised explosive devices, which, according to military officials, is the top killer of Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Eighty percent of wounded personnel in theater are attributed to IED incidents," said Sgt. 1st Class J.D. Sheffer, noncommissioned officer in charge of the IED defeat lane for 5th Armored Brigade. "Though the armor has gotten better, the devices have gotten better. IEDs are still a threat, and they're going to be a threat wherever we go."

The IED defeat lane is designed as a two-day training curriculum, said Sheffer. One day is spent in the classroom, where students learn the tactics, techniques and procedures used by both American coalition forces and insurgents. The next day consists of mounted and dismounted patrols in various types of environments.

A team of Soldiers from the 32nd IBCT patrolled a simulated route that presented a very high threat for IED attacks. They came across several IEDs emplaced by mock opposing forces. Using their training, the Guardsmen were successful in identifying the threats.

"This kind of training gives you an idea to pre-think what's going to happen and [ask yourself,] 'How am I going to react in different situations, both mounted on a vehicle and walking along the side of a road?'" said Staff Sgt. Joseph King, a public works noncommissioned officer with the 32nd IBCT.

King is on his third deployment and said the training he is currently undergoing has progressed with the times and new IED threats.

"[It's] a night-and-day difference," said King. "There's absolutely no comparison. The training we've gotten in the last year is 400 percent more than in previous years."

Mary Anderson of Omega Training Group, Inc., which supports training in the IED lane, said her entire team of instructors is very dedicated to ensuring Soldiers are learning all the tactics, techniques and procedures that will keep them from becoming victims.

"This training is very important for these Soldiers," said Anderson. "We want to make sure that they know everything so they come back in one piece."

Soldiers said they are confident they will deploy with the skills necessary to defeat the IED threat, but they warn that no one should mistake confidence for complacency.

"I'm sure that I'll be able to meet this [IED threat] overseas and carry on with my mission," said Sgt. James Schafer of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 32nd IBCT. "I'm pretty confident, but I think it's important not to be too confident. Once you get to the point where you're way too confident, that's when stuff starts to happen."

One of the trainers, George Rodriguez of Cubic Corporation, said Soldiers need to keep in mind they are "targets of opportunity" for any insurgent at any given place and time in theater.

"As long as they stay away from complacency, they have a pretty good chance of survival," said Rodriguez.

• Date Taken: 03.04.2009
• Date Posted: 03.12.2009 16:24
• Story ID: 31048
• Location: MCGREGOR RANGE, US