US, Gulf Cooperation Council coun-tries train to respond to global threats: Engineers and explosive ordnance disposal teams share best practices

Photo By Frank O'Brien | Explosive ordnance disposal specialists, civilians and military engineers from the U.S. and Gulf Cooperation Council nations train on explosive ordnance disposal as part of a joint interoperability exercise for Eagle Resolve 2017 at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait on March 26, 2017. The training, held at the headquarters for the Kuwaiti 94th Al-Yarmouk Mechanized Brigade, was one of several multi-week partnership trainings on asymmetric/unconventional warfare in urban environments. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Francis O'Brien)  

KUWAIT

04.05.2017

Story by Staff Sgt. Frank O'Brien 

29th Infantry Division

KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait – Engineers and explosive ordnance disposal specialists from four nations met at the 94th Mechanized Battalion headquarters March 27, as part of exercise Eagle Resolve to share best practices for responding to asymmetric and unconventional warfare in urban environments.

The EOD and improvised explosive device training was part of a multi-week exercise that will culminate in a field training exercise.

Multinational engagements like Eagle Resolve offer participants an opportunity to deploy personnel and equipment in a way that effectively contributes to a coalition envi-ronment to help build and strengthen personal relationships between partners.

Master Sgt. Andrew Gernux, a U.S. Army Central explosive ordnance disposal spe-cialist, has seven deployments – four to Iraq and three to Afghanistan – that made him an invaluable asset to the training. U.S. Soldiers and Airmen were on hand to facilitate the training.

“We hope to get everyone on the same page, talking the same language so when we go into the field training exercise everyone has the same mindset,” said Gernux.

In addition to several safety reviews, participants used ordnance handling and disposal equipment for hands-on familiarization training. The Kuwait Ministry of Interior department displayed robotic bomb disposal technology while the Saudi Royal Armed Forces presented a bomb suit.

“For the next few weeks we will all be training together in EOD and counter IED,” said U.S. Army Reserve Lt. Col. Yvette Lane-Rose, officer-in-charge of chemical, bio-logical, radiological, nuclear and explosives training for Eagle Resolve 2017.

Based on current events, participants focused on response procedures for explosive devices in urban environments. According to Gernux, one lesson learned from actions in Iraq and Afghanistan is the potential for booby traps and secondary attacks.
“If you can see the bomb, the bomb can see you,” said Gernux. He added that it’s important to keep in mind how far away an IED may be and personal protective equipment.

“You have to protect the civilian population…the more time you spend at a potential IED spot, the more people will gather, including the enemy,” said Senior Airman Dumitru Petre of the 407th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron Explosive Ordnance Disposal team.

Petre added that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria has changed the traditional craft of the post 9/11 bomb maker from homemade devices to more military grade and mili-tary-inspired techniques.

Training included comparisons between U.S. and French methods when approaching a possible explosive device and how various nations dispose of ordnance. For example, Saudi Arabia EOD personnel bury neutralized ordnance, while the U.S. will not said Air Force Staff Sgt. Devin Stuart.

“Someone could dig it up. It could be hazardous,” Stuart added.

The counter IED joint interoperability training will be tested in several final culminating events in Kuwait on April 6. Since 1999, Eagle Resolve has grown to become the leading engagement between U.S. and Gulf Cooperation Council nations to collectively address the regional challenges associated with asymmetric warfare in a low-risk setting.

• Date Taken: 04.05.2017
• Date Posted: 04.05.2017 14:06
• Story ID: 229274
• Location: KW