Beating the bombs
The Australian teaching US soldiers to defeat improvised explosive devices

Maj Craig Madden. Photo provided by Maj John Liston, HQTC

The truck graveyard at Baghdad international airport, the resting place for dozens of contractor vehicles destroyed by IEDs. Photo by Cpl Damian Shovell, Army newspaper

By Maj John Liston

From inside the humvee the stretch of Iraqi highway seems safe enough. Without warning the ground on the right erupts like a volcano peppering the vehicle with dirt. Bitumen, stones and shrapnel, crack the windscreen. As the dust clears, the road reappears as if nothing had happened.

An American soldier’s hand held video camera captured the detonation of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED).

In a classroom environment, the shock of the unexpected explosion, on video, brings home the realities of life in Iraq.

“Notice how the vehicle maintained its speed and didn’t swerve?” the instructor says. “The device went off too early, those inside survived.”

The audience is stunned at the harsh truth, but this footage has become a vital training aid for an Iraq deployment.

IEDs are among the biggest killers of coalition troops in Iraq and require a new set of tactics, techniques and procedures for the soldiers serving there.

Explosive Hazards Awareness Team (EHAT) Leader Maj Craig Madden heads a team of six US soldiers and marines, who are responsible for training coalition troops on safety during their tour of duty.

Maj Madden is an instructor at the Command, Staff and Operations Training Centre, Canungra, and is currently deployed on Operation Catalyst.

“IEDs are the number one threat to coalition troops and, as a result, the number one force protection issue for commanders,” he says

“We are better preparing the troops to counter the IED threat and our training has been enthusiastically received by US forces.”

Maj Madden, who has seen the effects of IEDs first hand, believes the coalition is up against a determined and innovative enemy.

“I am amazed to see similar patterns throughout Iraq, the IED attacks appear to be well-coordinated,” he says.

During the past four months, EHAT have trained more than 2000 coalition soldiers, civilian contractors, foreign embassy staff and members of the new Iraqi Army. They also conduct mine and un-exploded ordinance awareness training.

The training has begun to have a multiplying effect with initial in-country training now extending to courses conducted outside Iraq. A select few soldiers are chosen to be trained as EHAT instructors, to take the information back to their units and teach members before deployment to Iraq.

While service in Iraq has its dangers, Maj Madden regards his job as professionally fulfilling. He has regularly supplied his specialist advice and assisted the US Army with updating and enhancing pre-deployment training for Iraq-bound troops.
Maj Madden trained for a year in the US and Canada and is one of the few Australians in Iraq to command American soldiers.

“I understand the psyche and culture of Americans from my time spent there, but basically we are all soldiers and share more similarities than differences,” he says.

This truck-mounted missile is one of the larger UXOs to be found in the Iraqi desert. Photo by Cpl Damian Shovell,Army newspaper

Looking for trouble

Maj Craig Madden is not the only Australian contributing to the fight against IEDs in Iraq.

A small EOD team deploys with every Secdet rotation and provides support to the broader Coalition effort to disarm both IEDs and UXOs.

The team’s primary role is to support the Secdet and other Australian forces in Iraq. The EOD technicians also provide support to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, a US brigade in Baghdad.

The team performs both unexploded ordnance disposal tasks and post-blast analysis – deploying to the site of an attack and identifying the nature of weapon or explosive used.