Photo By Emanuel Melton | U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Zachary K. Beveridge, of Layton, Utah, works with a Royal Thai...... read more read more
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BAN CHAM KREM, Thailand – Royal Thai Marines and U.S. Marines with Combat Assault Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, conducted counter improvised explosive device training as part of Exercise Cobra Gold 2012.
“This isn’t a qualification course, but mind-set training,” said Sgt Matthew J. Medzis, a counter IED instructor for CAB during Exercise Cobra Gold. “We help them realize that there is stuff out there that can’t be seen but can hurt you.”
The course is meant to increase awareness of IEDS and how to better detect them and disable them before they can cause any harm or damage.
Medzis has experience in IEDs after encountering them in Iraq and Afghanistan while working as a combat engineer. He learned that even the best set of equipment is no substitute for a good set of eyes.
“We teach them the ‘5 and 25’ rule and to watch for baseline changes,” Medzis said. “We teach them to scan their immediate five meters around them, ,then they begin scanning the area up to 25 meters out looking for baseline changes or misplaced things in the environment.”
The service members used metal detectors to locate materials buried underground that might potentially be IEDs.
“This is knowledge that can help save lives,” said Medzis, a Richfield, Minn., native. “The Thais do a lot of mine sweeping, so more ‘stick time’ like this will help them. Their tactics are similar to ours so they pickup the training easily.”
The training begins first in a classroom environment where they learn the five C’s of counter IED training; clear the area, cordon the area, control the cordon, confirm the threat, and call for support.
“When you deploy, it helps us know what you have to do when you are on patrol and you find an IED,” said Cpl Seth D. Huntt, an Amphibious Assault Vehicle Mechanic with AAV Co., CAB, III MEF. “What has to happen; what has to take place; and the proper procedures to take. All this training is relevant.”
According to Medzis, the Thais understand the current terrorist threat throughout the world, and they want to be more trained to handle it.
“The Thai Marines have similar threats and want to make sure they have good TTPs (tactics, techniques and procedures) and hopefully improve their TTPs against IEDs,” said Sgt. Cristian E. Rios, a secondary instructor for the counter IED course and 3rd platoon squad leader, combat engineer company, CAB, 3rd Marine Div., III MEF. “[The Thais] have been picking up the information very quickly. I’m very confident in their skills.”
This is 31st reiteration of Exercise Cobra Gold and it is not only beneficial to the host country but also its participants who often learn from those who they are teaching.
“They are teaching us their own TTPs, so not only are they learning but they are teaching us,” said Rios, a Miami native. “To see that during bilateral training; that knowledge is getting passed on; I feel good that my mission here has a purpose.”
Exercise Cobra Gold is a recurring multinational and multi-service exercise hosted by co-hosted by the Kingdom of Thailand and the U.S. designed to advance regional security by exercising a multinational force from nations sharing common goals and security commitments in the Asia-Pacific region.
| Date Taken: | 02.12.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 02.11.2012 21:47 |
| Story ID: | 83738 |
| Location: | TH |
| Web Views: | 364 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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