Photo By Master Sgt. Mary Rose Mittlesteadt | A military truck speeds by an improvised explosive device decoy on a training lane...... read more read more
By Staff Sgt. Mary Rose Mittlesteadt
11th Public Affairs Detachment
TIKRIT, Iraq – Improvised explosive devices are the number-one killer of coalition forces deployed to Iraq. Tougher and larger vehicles are one way of protecting Soldiers on the roads of Iraq, but another is preventative training.
Sailors with Task Force Troy North who specialized in counter IED measures, spend many days at Contingency Operating Base Speicher, located in Tikrit, Iraq, teaching Soldiers what to look for and how to react on the battlefield.
"We are training units to raise their level of awareness, give them an idea of what devices look like up-close, and give them ideas of what indicators they might see," said U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Russell Juhl. "We get their eyes trained-in to focus when they go outside the wire to be thinking IEDs here, IEDS there, that could be a timing marker that could be an indicator."
An IED could be anything; from a plastic bottle to a bag, or even some sort of communication device hidden behind a rock. Task Force Troy North, which is comprised of two Navy, Air Force and Army companies, educate Soldiers to be aware of these indicators. The preventative IED training will help more soldiers to come home alive.
The war we are fighting is not the typical warfare. Our biggest threat is IEDs, Juhl added.
The training is very realistic; it is actually conducted in the environment where Soldier, Sailors, Airmen and Marines fight daily for the war on terrorism.
It's relevant training. We go through reports constantly to keep our training current for the area the Soldiers are supporting. We tailor our training to the area, Juhl said.
"I learned a lot of things, different ways to hide stuff, and how hard it is to really identify if you're not really paying attention, I mean, you got to keep your eyes open when you're out there," said Spc. Timothy Melech, a Soldier with 426th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).
First, Soldiers attend a lecture in a classroom. Next, they move outdoors to walk a lane. During the lanes training session, the Soldiers learn how various explosives are disguised. The Soldier also attend a driving lane, designed to identify IEDs while driving at different speeds. The IED lanes' training helps and provides service members additional insight on what they may or may not see on the roads of Iraq.
"Everybody that is in Iraq or Afghanistan should be doing this training," said Sgt. Ernesto Torres, a Soldier with 426th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).
After the training, the Soldiers conduct a review of what they saw and what they learned through the counter IED training.
"We aren't necessarily fighting the fight at the point of the spear but maybe we are helping to keep the spear sharp," Juhl said to his team.
| Date Taken: | 06.01.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 06.01.2008 15:38 |
| Story ID: | 20010 |
| Location: | TIKRIT, IQ |
| Web Views: | 353 |
| Downloads: | 227 |
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