ianstone
03-14-2010, 11:56 AM
Article
Troops hail C-IED experts as 'heroes of Afghanistan'
11 Mar 10
The British soldiers responsible for finding, isolating and defusing improvised explosive devices are being hailed by their fellow troops as the heroes of Britain and NATO's Afghanistan counter-insurgency campaign.
A member of the UK Counter-IED Task Force in action (stock image)
[Picture: Andy Cargill, Crown Copyright/MOD 2010]
It is the soldiers of the Royal Logistic Corps explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams and the Royal Engineers search teams that, between them, find and destroy the IEDs.
One of those soldiers is Staff Sergeant Gareth Wood, a high threat IED disposal operator.
A recent disposal near Patrol Base Talibjan in the rocky Afghan desert, a couple of kilometres from Taliban insurgent positions, is typical of his daily work.
Staff Sergeant Wood walked towards a mark on the ground under which 20kg of ammonium nitrate and aluminium, the ingredients of a powerful improvised bomb, were hidden.
His colleagues waited behind hard cover as he lay in front of the device quietly going through his drills. For ten minutes he worked inches from the bomb, identifying the components, and, using his fingers to feel the device, he disarmed it.
Job done, he calmly walked back to rejoin his colleagues:
"It's all about keeping your cool. You can't rush things, no matter what the threat," said SSgt Wood.
Soldiers from across Task Force Helmand ranging from privates to commanding officers are in no doubt that these remarkable men and women are saving numerous lives:
"They are real heroes of this campaign," said Major Rob Philipson-Stow, Second-in-Command of the Household Cavalry Regiment Battle Group based in Musa Qal'ah.
"The way they approach their job is phenomenal."
For SSgt Wood, whose EOD unit is based in Oxfordshire, it's all in a day's work:
"We get a lot of satisfaction from what we do. It is very satisfying to be needed and to be used," he said.
"We've had former Taliban fighters come to us and say, 'I have children now, I don't want them to be blown up'."
Captain Rolly Spiller
As the day progressed, more improvised explosive devices around the base and on a dirt track nearby were found - eight in total.
From 1000hrs through to mid-afternoon, the sound of thumps echoed throughout the Taliban valley as SSgt Wood's team, supported by three US colleagues, safely detonated the detected devices.
As UK troops have consistently defeated the enemy in open combat, the Taliban have resorted to laying IEDs. In many cases they pay or coerce others to plant explosives for them, including children.
In response to this threat, the British Army has set up a Counter-IED Task Force, composed of the Royal Logistic Corps explosive ordnance disposal teams and the Royal Engineers search teams.
The Task Force has developed new tactics and equipment, much of it secret, to find and destroy the bombs before they explode.
In addition, infantry soldiers are becoming increasingly skilled in identifying IEDs, thanks to new training and equipment.
Working with the Afghan National Army has resulted in the sharing of techniques to identify these deadly devices. The Afghan soldiers are particularly adept at spotting the slightest tell-tale signs. The importance of local knowledge cannot be underestimated.
Reflecting on how his work feeds into the wider counter-insurgency operation, SSgt Wood said:
"The Counter-IED Task Force is vitally important to the conflict here. Our work finding and disposing of IEDs allows the battle groups to maintain their freedom of movement and also allows Afghan civilians go about their daily lives."
Indeed many of the victims of the IEDs are poor Afghan farmers or children, who pick up items like detonators thinking that they are toys, only to have their hands and feet blown off:
"It's cowardly the way they are fighting. It's very indiscriminate the amount of casualties caused to Afghan children," SSgt Wood said of the Taliban.
Such is the backlash from locals that British soldiers in the Musa Qal'ah area are seeing many more 'walk-ins' from Afghans fed up with the Taliban's tactics.
Captain Rolly Spiller, a British Staff Officer in Musa Qal'ah who himself was injured on a previous tour by an IED, said:
"We've had former Taliban fighters come to us and say, 'I have children now, I don't want them to be blown up'."
Although some do detonate, over 80 per cent of bombs are found and made safe by soldiers from the C-IED Task Force. In addition, heavily armoured new vehicles such as Mastiff mean that soldiers are increasingly likely to survive bomb blasts should they occur.
It takes years of painstaking training to become a top bomb disposal operator.
SSgt Wood has had six years' experience to reach the level of high threat IED disposal operator:
"All my guys are highly trained," said SSgt Wood. "We're probably the most highly trained IED operators in the world. I am confident in our ability as a team although we're always learning."
Brigadier James Cowan, the Commander of Task Force Helmand, said:
"The men and women of the C-IED Task Force are an extraordinary group of people.
"Selflessly committed to their dangerous work and utterly professional, there isn't a soldier in Task Force Helmand who doesn't hold them in the utmost respect for what they do and the way they do it.
"I am deeply proud to have them serving as part of my brigade, saving military and civilian lives day-in and day-out. They are some of the true heroes of this campaign."
Troops hail C-IED experts as 'heroes of Afghanistan'
11 Mar 10
The British soldiers responsible for finding, isolating and defusing improvised explosive devices are being hailed by their fellow troops as the heroes of Britain and NATO's Afghanistan counter-insurgency campaign.
A member of the UK Counter-IED Task Force in action (stock image)
[Picture: Andy Cargill, Crown Copyright/MOD 2010]
It is the soldiers of the Royal Logistic Corps explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams and the Royal Engineers search teams that, between them, find and destroy the IEDs.
One of those soldiers is Staff Sergeant Gareth Wood, a high threat IED disposal operator.
A recent disposal near Patrol Base Talibjan in the rocky Afghan desert, a couple of kilometres from Taliban insurgent positions, is typical of his daily work.
Staff Sergeant Wood walked towards a mark on the ground under which 20kg of ammonium nitrate and aluminium, the ingredients of a powerful improvised bomb, were hidden.
His colleagues waited behind hard cover as he lay in front of the device quietly going through his drills. For ten minutes he worked inches from the bomb, identifying the components, and, using his fingers to feel the device, he disarmed it.
Job done, he calmly walked back to rejoin his colleagues:
"It's all about keeping your cool. You can't rush things, no matter what the threat," said SSgt Wood.
Soldiers from across Task Force Helmand ranging from privates to commanding officers are in no doubt that these remarkable men and women are saving numerous lives:
"They are real heroes of this campaign," said Major Rob Philipson-Stow, Second-in-Command of the Household Cavalry Regiment Battle Group based in Musa Qal'ah.
"The way they approach their job is phenomenal."
For SSgt Wood, whose EOD unit is based in Oxfordshire, it's all in a day's work:
"We get a lot of satisfaction from what we do. It is very satisfying to be needed and to be used," he said.
"We've had former Taliban fighters come to us and say, 'I have children now, I don't want them to be blown up'."
Captain Rolly Spiller
As the day progressed, more improvised explosive devices around the base and on a dirt track nearby were found - eight in total.
From 1000hrs through to mid-afternoon, the sound of thumps echoed throughout the Taliban valley as SSgt Wood's team, supported by three US colleagues, safely detonated the detected devices.
As UK troops have consistently defeated the enemy in open combat, the Taliban have resorted to laying IEDs. In many cases they pay or coerce others to plant explosives for them, including children.
In response to this threat, the British Army has set up a Counter-IED Task Force, composed of the Royal Logistic Corps explosive ordnance disposal teams and the Royal Engineers search teams.
The Task Force has developed new tactics and equipment, much of it secret, to find and destroy the bombs before they explode.
In addition, infantry soldiers are becoming increasingly skilled in identifying IEDs, thanks to new training and equipment.
Working with the Afghan National Army has resulted in the sharing of techniques to identify these deadly devices. The Afghan soldiers are particularly adept at spotting the slightest tell-tale signs. The importance of local knowledge cannot be underestimated.
Reflecting on how his work feeds into the wider counter-insurgency operation, SSgt Wood said:
"The Counter-IED Task Force is vitally important to the conflict here. Our work finding and disposing of IEDs allows the battle groups to maintain their freedom of movement and also allows Afghan civilians go about their daily lives."
Indeed many of the victims of the IEDs are poor Afghan farmers or children, who pick up items like detonators thinking that they are toys, only to have their hands and feet blown off:
"It's cowardly the way they are fighting. It's very indiscriminate the amount of casualties caused to Afghan children," SSgt Wood said of the Taliban.
Such is the backlash from locals that British soldiers in the Musa Qal'ah area are seeing many more 'walk-ins' from Afghans fed up with the Taliban's tactics.
Captain Rolly Spiller, a British Staff Officer in Musa Qal'ah who himself was injured on a previous tour by an IED, said:
"We've had former Taliban fighters come to us and say, 'I have children now, I don't want them to be blown up'."
Although some do detonate, over 80 per cent of bombs are found and made safe by soldiers from the C-IED Task Force. In addition, heavily armoured new vehicles such as Mastiff mean that soldiers are increasingly likely to survive bomb blasts should they occur.
It takes years of painstaking training to become a top bomb disposal operator.
SSgt Wood has had six years' experience to reach the level of high threat IED disposal operator:
"All my guys are highly trained," said SSgt Wood. "We're probably the most highly trained IED operators in the world. I am confident in our ability as a team although we're always learning."
Brigadier James Cowan, the Commander of Task Force Helmand, said:
"The men and women of the C-IED Task Force are an extraordinary group of people.
"Selflessly committed to their dangerous work and utterly professional, there isn't a soldier in Task Force Helmand who doesn't hold them in the utmost respect for what they do and the way they do it.
"I am deeply proud to have them serving as part of my brigade, saving military and civilian lives day-in and day-out. They are some of the true heroes of this campaign."