SGT. 1st class abram pinnington/u.s. army
Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) accounted for 63 percent of all casualties sustained by the Afghanistan National Security Forces and International Security Assistance Forces from January 2008 to September 2012, according to a report by icasualties.org.
Equipped with this knowledge and encouraged by the success of the coalition’s route-clearance companies, the Afghan National Army (ANA) leadership identified counter-IED training as a top priority.
The ANA now offers a six-week counter-IED course at Camp Parsa in Khost province. The training gives Afghan troops a critical capability in sustaining unilateral operations and providing security for Afghanistan.
“We witnessed how well the coalition Soldiers conducted their counter-IED methods,” said 1st Lt. Abdul Halim, the officer in charge of the ANA counter-IED training at Camp Parsa. “We decided that in order to sustain our efforts in securing our own country, this would be important for us to have and train for.”
The course is designed to heighten awareness of ever-evolving IED tactics and implementation. Soldiers are taught to identify, secure and disable the bombs.
“First, our Soldiers go to northern Mazar-e Sharif for explosive ordnance disposal training,” said Halim. “Once they’re done, they come here for field training on lessons learned. We test their skills and abilities very hard here.”
The Soldiers are taught advanced counter-IED technology during the course at Parsa.“We train them on [how] to use modern mine detecting and clearing equipment,” said Halim. “We now have robots, bomb suits and jamming equipment that helps us defeat these menacing mines. I make sure they know how to detect and defeat before they leave here.”
Halim carries a great deal of pride in what he is doing for his country’s Army. “I chose to serve my people through fighting the mines,” he said. “I want to train the trainees professionally and ultimately make this platoon and company as a model for the rest of our Army.”
Although the ANA initiated the training and implementation of the course, coalition Soldiers help ensure the trainers are taught the latest counter-IED techniques. After the training, further assistance from U.S. Soldiers is rarely needed or requested.
“These guys are really good at what they do,” said U.S. Capt. Michael Wilda, officer in charge of the counter-IED partnership. “Very seldom do they ask much of us. When they do, we give them our advice and ensure they understand what we’re showing them and then they run with it.”
With an insurgency that prefers roadside bombs over face-to-face fighting, IEDs are a constant threat to the people of Afghanistan and its security forces. “This is an IED war rather than a conventional one,” said Halim. “We want to show the world and our people that Afghanistan can have a professional army that can cope with the problems of IEDs on their own.”