LOGAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Seventeen Afghan National Security Forces members graduated from an Explosive Hazardous Reduction Course on Jan. 12 in Logar province’s Pul-E Alam district.
Thirteen Afghan National Army Special Forces soldiers, of the 8th Special Operations Kandak, and four Civil Mine Reduction Group members completed training facilitated by coalition explosive ordinance and demolition experts.
“[The course] provides Afghan forces with a working knowledge of how to neutralize an [improvised explosive device] threat in areas where they live and work,” said an EHRC instructor. “IEDs remain a serious threat to civilians and Afghan forces throughout the country.”
The EHRC consists of classroom instruction and practical field exercises that strengthen skills in locating bombs on the battlefield and destroying or defusing different types of IEDs used in the region.
“I have been destroying the enemy’s IEDs for about seven years,” said a graduating special forces soldier. “[However] this training gave me new techniques and showed me [better ways to do it].”
After completing the classroom and practical exercise portions of the course, students are required to complete a comprehensive field exam to graduate.
“The students from the 8th SOK and CMRG, who graduated from the EHRC, performed very well throughout the course,” said the instructor. “These students will leave here with a solid working knowledge [on] how to counter the IED threat in their respective areas of responsibility.”
Upon completion of the course, the graduates will return to their units and home districts specializing in locating and reducing IEDs, making their regions safer for the civilian population.