Photo By Cpl. Kenneth Jasik | Staff Sgt. Daniel McCarty (right), explosive ordnance disposal technician, 1st EOD...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – The deadliest threat to coalition forces in Afghanistan is hidden explosives, or improvised explosive devices. In order to locate these devices before they can cause deadly damage, Marines need to know what to look for and how to respond to any possible explosive threat.
To help Marines and sailors preparing to deploy to Afghanistan, the most knowledgeable Marines on the subject, explosive ordnance disposal technicians, taught Marines with General Support Military Police Company, I Marine Expeditionary Force, IED detection and the procedures for locating unexploded ordnance, July 14 and 15.
“The skills and tools we’re training them on will allow them to find IEDs both visually and with the tools they are trained on,” said Staff Sgt. Ysa P. Rubio, EOD tech, 1st EOD Company, 7th Engineer Support Battalion, Combat Logistics Regiment 1, 1st Marine Logistics Group. “We teach them the basics of identification and detection of IEDs.”
Although the EOD techs are only teaching the basics of detection, finding an IED is still a very complex mission because the enemy is always searching for ways to beat coalition detection.
“It’s very complex,” said Rubio, 27, from Big Spring, Texas. “It’s a thinking man’s game. You have to be able to adapt to any situation and also realize when the enemy is trying to bait you into a situation.”
For the Marines who are first learning about these counter-IED techniques, it builds a level of confidence, so they gain the feeling that they know what they are looking for.
“This training makes me feel a little more comfortable,” said Cpl. Branden Deleon, dog handler, GSMP Company, I MEF. “You’ll never be 100 percent, but the more training you have, the more tools you have to counter against the enemy.”
Deleon, 22, from Kissimmee, Fla., said he has learned to be more aware, and to never let himself fall into a false sense of security, making him vulnerable to IEDs.
The Marines who learned about IED detection were taught how to properly identify IEDs hidden within the terrain they were running mock patrols through. The EOD techs taught the MPs when it was time for the Marines to call in the professionals to neutralize an explosive threat, so that no coalition force or civilian would become the victim of an explosion.
“The main threat in Afghanistan is IEDs,” said Rubio. “Regardless of mission, everyone should be able to identify and detect IEDs.”
| Date Taken: | 07.15.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 07.19.2011 13:30 |
| Story ID: | 73961 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 104 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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