Photo By 1st Lt. Timothy Nash | Navy Lt. John G. Taylor, company commander, Mobile Team 2, discusses training with the...... read more read more
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DIYALA, Iraq — The Sailors of the Explosive Ordinance Disposal Team, Mobile Unit 2, Company 2, at Forward Operating Base Warhorse, began the long road home to Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek, Va., Sept. 12.
Company 2 spent their deployment in Iraq’s Diyala province, working to defeat violent extremist networks emplacing improvised explosive devices that were endangering the people of Iraq, as well as U.S. and Iraqi Security Forces. During their six months in Diyala province, the team responded to more than 180 incidents.
According to the Mobile Unit 2’s company commander, Navy Lt. John G. Taylor, the largest part of their mission was not responding to reported IED's, but rather training the ISF in Diyala to take over counter-IED operations. This involved developing a dependable working relationship with the ISF and conducting weekly training sessions, both on FOB Warhorse and on Iraqi Army and police compounds.
“We would train on EOD-specific tactics, techniques and procedures. We tried to focus the training on what they wanted,” said Taylor. “What kind of threats they’re seeing in town, what skill sets they felt they were weak at and that we could help them get better at.”
One of the biggest obstacles the EOD team faced was building a working relationship with the local Iraqi Police leadership, who at first seemed unwilling to work with U.S. forces.
“They [ISF] know you’re here for six months, so they don’t want to get too close. They know you’re going to do your best, but they know within a few months, they’re going to have a new face to deal with,” said Lt. Taylor. “So for us to get out there and within two to three months have a solid working relationship, and to have that whole team of Diyala IP guys feel comfortable to come out here or host us at their headquarters in Baquba, was a huge success for us.”
A few months into Company 2’s deployment, U.S. forces in Iraq identified the need for Iraqi police to have the same capabilities as deployed U.S. EOD teams.
“As U.S. forces leave theatre, we take our EOD capability with us. That same capability had to be present within the Iraqi Security Forces,” said Lt. Col. John B. Shattuck, the Diyala Police Transition Team Chief.
As a result, new counter-IED equipment, including IED-Resistant bomb suits and HD-1 robots designed to search, identify and disrupt IED's, were distributed to Iraqi police counter-IED teams throughout the country. In Diyala it was Company 2’s job to train them on how to use the new equipment.
The training resulted in a Diyala Iraqi Police counter-IED team that can work independently from U.S. forces and will continue to do so long after the U.S. departs Iraq.
Towards the end of their deployment, Taylor and his team witnessed the Diyala Police counter-IED team disarm a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device in downtown Baqubah.
“You could see them utilizing the training they received, and they were remarkably successful. We were proud more than anything,” said Taylor. “It was extremely satisfying to see that we taught them how to do that and now they’re employing it out on the streets and they saved countless lives in disarming that VBIED.”
Early Sunday morning, Sept.12, Mobile Unit 2, Company 2 handed their mission over to Mobile Unit 6, Company 1, who will follow in the footsteps of their predecessors. In another year-and-a-half, the Diyala ISF will not have U.S. forces to depend on for counter-IED support. Taylor doesn’t believe they need it now.
“Right now they’re running all of their missions unilaterally; we’re not involved in it,” said Taylor. “Iraq is still a dangerous place. There are IED's found and reported every single day, but there are much fewer casualties. That means the IP teams are doing their job, and they’re doing it right.”
| Date Taken: | 09.12.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 09.13.2010 22:25 |
| Story ID: | 56218 |
| Location: | DIYALA, IQ |
| Web Views: | 707 |
| Downloads: | 7 |
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