IED training prepares Soldiers for future threat

01.28.2005

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Story by: Sgt. Raymond Piper

Improvised explosive devices are a continuing threat to the lives of servicemembers and their vehicles. To help combat this threat, Soldiers processing through Kuwait must go through Iraq theater IED and explosive hazards awareness training.

The class provided updated information to the types of tactics that insurgents are using against coalition forces.

The IEDs are being placed along roads with a high volume of coalition traffic. They may be placed in culverts or on the insides of guardrails because they are harder to see and off the ground.

The insurgents have learned to place their IEDs higher because of Humvee uparmor kits so that more of the blast will go into the gunner hatch or less armored portions of the vehicle, said Sgt. Will Alt, explosive hazard trainer.

Some of the other enemy tactics have expanded to adding a fuel mix to the IED so it burns longer and sticks to vehicles, using larger IEDs, complex ambushes following a blast and tandem attacks from both sides of the road.

Another common tactic is that the insurgents will throw improvised hand grenades at vehicles as they pass under overpasses and set garrote lines at gunner height for passing vehicles.

"Some units have welded steel bars to the front of their vehicles to catch these lines, but that can be used against you because of instead of the garrote they can place a trip wire for an IED," Alt said. "The best thing to do is have the gunner drop down into the hatch right before you go under an overpass."

Alt also recommended switching lanes when you're under the overpass because insurgents are working to time their throw for when you come out the other side.

Vehicle borne IEDs have become more common, but there are signs for both the static and mobile VBIED.

Although many people on the road drive fast and recklessly, not every single one will be an attack, Alt said. Most drivers of car bombs are single males so if a woman and a child are in the car, more than likely they are not attacking. Most civilians know the routine and tend to move off to the side of the road for convoys.

But he said, "You can't take any chances, so as a rear gunner you can never let a civilian vehicle get in the convoy."

Static VBIEDs are usually set off the side of the road. The windows may be blacked out or covered to prevent people from seeing the wires and explosives.

IED sweep teams regularly patrol the roads and drive between the guardrails to check for IEDs.

One area the sweep teams look at is the site of previous IED attacks, Alt said.

"The insurgents go back to the places where they have had success in the past," he added.

According to Alt, most of the insurgents are placing IEDs at night in three stages.

One person will do a recon with some form of plausible denial, such as pulling over to the side of the road and popping the hood of his car.

With the cover of darkness, the second man digs the hole for the IED and leaves before he is noticed. Alt said this is usually done around midnight.

The last group sets up the IED and moves to a concealed location to set off the device.

"The three stages eliminate the amount of time they are next to the MSR," Alt said.

To illustrate how many people are involved in one of these operations, Alt explained how the 1st Cavalry Division in one night captured 16 insurgents preparing an IED site.

"They are putting these devices in a hurry so they don't get caught," Alt said. "We have found rounds that were partially buried."

But be careful because a partially buried IED can be part of a bait and switch where the actual device is buried on the other side of the road.

"Your best bet is to split your distance between the sides of the roads, which is pretty easy on the MSRs because there are four lanes," Alt said.

IEDs can be made out of almost anything, from trash to Pepsi cans. There are three parts to an IED -- the casing, which covers the device, the main charge and the initiating device.

The main charge can be made using artillery rounds and other unexploded ordnance or military and commercial grade explosives.

"Insurgents favor using military ordnance because there are so many unknown caches in Iraq," Alt said.

The device's detonator can either be a command wire, where the trigger is connected by a wire; a remote, where the trigger can range from a cell phone to a garage door opener; or a timer.

The remote trigger is the most used because it's easily concealed, Alt said. Once the device is wired, the only part showing is a five- to six-inch antenna. Depending on what the insurgents use as the detonator, they can be 150 to 200 meters away.

With a command wire, there will be at least one wire running from the device to the firing point.

"The insurgents are very careless on camouflaging their wires," Alt said. "We found an artillery round that had been buried, but the spool of wire was left in the open next to the device."

A sign that an IED may be present is a change in the environment, such as a new sign, fresh cement or freshly dug dirt on the side of the road.

One tactic the insurgents use will be to remove a section of a curb than lay new cement over the spot, according to Alt. Wires often can be seen running from the new concrete because the insurgents are unable to dig up the entire sidewalk to conceal them.

"If you find an indicator of an IED, don't spend extra time around the area. Report it and secure the area if possible," Alt said.

Timed IEDs are virtually impossible to use against a convoy, Alt said. They are mostly used at entry control points and to fire mortars and rockets into the camps.

IEDs have steadily increased since January 2004. In the past year, 11,169 devices were found or detonated. 4,645 were found, 4,608 were ineffective or caused no injuries, 220 caused deaths and 1,496 detonated and wounded Soldiers.

"We cannot set trends," Alt said. "The insurgents will see and use them against us. Pattern development by coalition forces is the number-one reason for successful IED attacks by the enemy," Alt said.

• Date Taken: 01.28.2005
• Date Posted: 01.28.2005 13:37
• Story ID: 966