Photo By Sgt. Anthony Hooker | An up-armored HMMMV drives past jersey barriers during classes held July 25, 2008 at...... read more read more
By Spc. Anthony Hooker
215th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq – The 55th Sustainment Brigade hosted a counter improvised explosive device Class July 23 through 25 at the Sgt. Germane L. Debro Counter IED Lane.
The class was led by visiting instructors who specialize in identifying, securing, and detonating explosives placed by enemy forces. The class also focused on how 3d Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) troops can improve their ability to move through the battle space when on combat logistical patrols.
Sgt. Shandall Beeler and Naval Chief Petty Officer Matthew Broderson traveled from Contingency Operating Base Speicher and gave instruction to 16 personnel from six different units.
Broderson and Beeler, members of Task Force Troy, a fighting force created in 2005 to respond to unexploded ordinances and IEDs, taught search techniques from mounted and dismounted positions, reaction drills and had students create scenarios for fellow classmates to test and overcome.
After a full day of slideshow presentations, students moved to the IED course and were placed on a speed appreciation lane. They drove through it at 30 mph the first time, then returned to drive the lane a second time at 15 mph. Afterwards, the trainers showed the students where the actual placement of unexploded ordinances and IEDs were.
Broderson, a native of Widbey Island, Wash., said his goals were to teach students visual recognition and to raise their confidence.
"A lot of times people call out more than what's really there," Broderson said, "they miss one or two things."
Broderson explained that identification is huge when you have multiple tasks to complete. His team provides the latest trends of insurgent behavior; the expectation is that units will develop their own procedures for responding to threats. Broderson said units showing predictable patterns are vulnerable to sophisticated attacks.
"The enemy may place something on the road just to confuse you when they are planning to use some other force," said Broderson. "If you (have) to call in a 9-line [medical evacuation by helicopter], a big deal is making a decision on where the helos should land."
Students were encouraged to make use of binoculars or their riflescopes to scan an area they consider compromised. Also, since people were unfamiliar with their fellow students, the instructors liberally removed people from the training.
"We like to eliminate the confident Soldiers to see how the others handle the loss," Broderson said.
Broderson explained that Soldiers learning their routes thoroughly get a new edge on the battlefield.
"When traveling, there are scout teams leading the way," Broderson said. "This training can help identify people who are sharp at visual recognition. They can dismount and be comfortable looking for command-wire, timing markers . . . anything that can relay where an IED might be."
On the final day of the class, instructors had the class play both civilians and insurgents. Soldiers placed simulated explosives throughout the course which their classmates were instructed to identify. Broderson also gave each team scenarios to work through.
Sgt. 1st Class Michael Mullins, a platoon sergeant with the 1st Battalion, 293rd Infantry Regiment, said being able to construct a scenario really opened his eyes.
"Going up and down the road, you can become narrow-minded," Mullins said. "Setting up IEDs was very enlightening tactically because [now] you start looking for patterns, observing where would be a good place to put an explosive."
Mullins said his thoughts increased as he sought to outwit his classmates.
"I found myself thinking two or three steps ahead," Mullins said, "It's like, 'Okay, how am I going to get this vehicle to stop here? Where's a good point to detonate my explosive and is there a backup plan if [the explosive] doesn't work?"'
Despite all of these new tactics, soldiers still must make quick decisions. Mullins said the training comes back to battle drills and rehearsals.
"As leaders, we identify ways to improve how we do our job and introduce it into Army training," Mullins said. "When a Soldier practices something, it becomes muscle memory and that's what you'll do when a situation presents itself."
Master Sgt. Juan Dominguez, Headquarter Company, 3rd ESC, is assigned to co-ordinate techniques, tactics, and procedures for Joint Base Balad and its supporting units. He said the class gave him a first-hand look on how operations are run elsewhere. Dominguez said he was able to take the lessons from the course, write an after-actions review, pass the info to subordinate units and get feedback.
"Units have told me that they come out individually and run the lanes," Dominguez said. "Now we have additional instructors, which can help close the [training gap]."
Dominguez said troops have access to an online "trailbook" which updates route clearances, weather, recent events and any changes in TTPs daily.
"The big thing we want is to make sure that everyone is going out and conducting the training," said Dominguez.
Broderson and Beeler primarily train troops in Multinational Divisional-North but travel to Joint Base Balad quarterly to introduce any new TTPs. Broderson said the most important thing the class should do is educate and empower students.
"The class is mainly teaching people situational awareness," Broderson said. "You may have KBR contractors or local nationals in your convoy who don't have weapons [to defend themselves]. Soldiers need to understand why you do this, why you don't do that . . . It's about management of your people, keeping them safe."
| Date Taken: | 08.13.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 08.13.2008 08:44 |
| Story ID: | 22428 |
| Location: | BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 348 |
| Downloads: | 300 |
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