New Counter-IED lanes train troops for full-spectrum combat operations

Photo By Sgt. Robert Adams | Tony Colon, U.S. contractor, engulfs in a cloud of smoke as he tests out a simulated suicide bomber vest at Forward Operating Base Dagger on Udairi Range Dec. 7.  

12.15.2005

Courtesy Story

DVIDS Hub       

Spc. Robert Adams
11th PAD

UDAIRI RANGE, Kuwait " As the convoy starts rolling down Route Los Angeles North, it will receive a taste of what Iraq will be like.

This mission, though challenging, will give the unit the knowledge and preparation it needs to enter the combat zone with confidence.

Before crossing the border, units must first complete a number of hands-on classes. The classes go over walkthroughs, convoy and combat operation missions down the new tactical movement with counter-improvised explosive device training exercise lanes built over the past five months at the Udairi Range.

Back in July, Coalition Forces Land Component Command's training division started planning and integrating the project to make the training at Udairi more realistic and beneficial to troops. Then in late September, Gen. John Abizaid, Central Command commanding general, directed CFLCC to have C-IED lanes for units during reception, staging, onward movement and integration.

What was once known as the convoy live-fire lane exercise, now has been replaced with a new TMCT which now includes a situational training exercise. There are also new C-IED dismounted and mounted lanes for combat arms units, a route reconnaissance and recurrence lane for engineers and explosive ordinance disposal units, a C-IED fundamentals lane and multiple practice maneuver lanes.

Part of the planning process involved updating the tactics, techniques and procedures and programs of instruction to emulate current enemy IEDs and tactics used in Iraq.

The training division started working hand-in-hand with the Joint-IED Defeat Task Force, which has teams in Iraq and Afghanistan studying enemy activities and advising Coalition Forces, said Lt. Col. Christopher Ballard, chief of training.

They send their field teams to the Udairi Range to help proof and validate the training to make sure it is as good and realistic as it can be, he added.

All of the new training TTPs and POIs being emplaced at Udairi are also being sent out to home stations, mobilization sites and combat training centers to further educate and prepare units before they board the plane.

Another part of the planning process involved gathering available resources to build towns and scenarios to train troops moving down each lane.

"We have used 16,000 square feet of plywood, 1,200 spare tires, 70 telephone poles, and 50 connexes to build houses and gathered vehicles from the Camp Arifjan retrograde yard to use along the lanes," said Maj. Larry Smedley, C-IED material resource officer.

The training also involved civilians on the battlefield, mostly comprised of third-country nationals, who play various roles in the contemporary operational environment. They will drive vehicles that interact with convoys and play roles that force troops to make decisions.

Troops are being taught to not only look at the explosion but to look at the whole IED system, to include the trigger man, video man, financier, supplier and placer, Ballard said. Role-player interaction is important because troops will be dealing with Iraqis.
The next phase of the planning process is the introduction of simulator rounds that replicate IEDs such as booby traps, mines, vehicle-borne IEDs and suicide bombers.

Troops will be able to see the smoke and hear the explosion of the IED to give them a more realistic scenario.

Gen. George W. Casey, Jr., Multi-National Forces-Iraq commanding general, visited Udairi Dec. 2 to view the new training and observe several convoys rolling through engagements.

"I'm pleases with the comprehensive approach to counter-IED training," Casey said. "They learn how to integrate the full spectrum of counter-IED tools into their mission profile."

The lanes training will be a continuous building project as the enemy is a master at pattern analysis and adaptation and changes their TTPs on a regular basis, Ballard said.

He added, "We will continue to build and modify the overall operational environment to make sure the training stays current with situations in Iraq."

• Date Taken: 12.15.2005
• Date Posted: 12.15.2005 16:30
• Story ID: 4109