EOD teams train on latest tactics

  • Published
  • By Teresa Walker
  • 56th Range Management Office
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  A team of instructors spent a week here educating explosive ordnance disposal specialists from the wing, Phoenix Police Department, Maricopa County Sheriff's Department and the Arizona Army National Guard.

A-T Solutions, Inc. provides anti-terrorism training based on real-time information about improvised explosive devices being used in Iraq. Many of the company's instructors are retired military and have backgrounds in explosive ordnance.

The in-depth course examines electronics and circuitry and allows EOD specialists to understand an IED through X-ray images and interpretation, which enhances their capability to disarm the IEDs and save lives. The training combines theoretical instruction and practical application of tools and techniques used against IEDs and other terrorist devices.

"What we're learning here are the most recent developments," said Sgt. 1st Class Bradley Murphy, assigned to Camp Navajo Army National Guard Depot. "Some of us have just gotten out of school, but some of us have been out of school for more than 10 years, so what we learned then is hardly applicable today. Equipment, tactics and technology have all evolved tremendously."

Real time information is crucial to EOD members responsible for clearing IEDs in Iraq, as tactics, techniques and technology constantly change.

Luke's EOD personnel work and train every three months with local bomb squads to ensure everyone is up to date with the new techniques each unit has encountered. Because the pace of deployments has mandated the use of Reservists, the EOD community has many "dual members." For instance, a member of the police department might also be a member of a Reserve unit as well, so sharing information and training together has exponential benefits.

The primary mission for the EOD specialists assigned to the Barry M. Goldwater Range is to clear it of training munitions. In addition, an estimated 80 percent of the 42 active duty and 16 Reservists assigned there have already deployed to Iraq, according to Master Sgt. Scott Jones, 944th Fighter Wing EOD program manager. Each had new information to bring back to the EOD community about how the enemy operated and the IED methods used against coalition members.

"The biggest and best feature of having the Goldwater Range available as a training area is because of its size, there's no limit to the amount of explosives we can use and the type of training we can do," he said.

"Here in the states we follow certain procedures when encountering an explosive device," Sergeant Jones said. "When we work with the Phoenix Police Department, the area is secured and no one is allowed access. We've got that control. In Iraq, there are people standing around with cameras, or using cell phones -- you don't know who the bomber is and don't have the ability to control the situation like we do stateside."

The BMGR is approximately 1.7 million acres located in southwestern Arizona. The Air Force has land management responsibility for one million acres on the eastern portion and the Marine Corps manages 700,000 acres in the western portion.