|
| |
Wired for action
By Capt Haydn Barlow
Edition 1175, September 20, 2007 |
| |
|
 |
|
Age wearied them: Members of the RTF EOD dispose of old Bangalore Torpedoes collected in Afghanistan. The Bangalore Torpedo was first developed by a British officer, who served in the British Colonial Army in India, in 1912.
Photo by Cpl Jamie Osborne |
|
COMBAT engineers with RTF 3 in Afghanistan have proved to be worth their weight in precious metal by detecting and defeating numerous IEDs.
Although the sappers will tell you they are just doing their job, it is one which requires years of training, and courage by the bucket load.
Recently one of their ISAF counterparts from Task Force Oruzgan was killed and another seriously wounded as they cleared an area for IEDs.
WO1 Tony Quirk, RTF Engineer Task Group SSM and a de-mining expert, said Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technicians must pit their mind against that of the bomb makers to stay one step ahead.
“Aussie engineers, especially the EOD lads, are highly trained and experienced in their field,” WO1 Quirk said.
“They treat the device with the appropriate respect, which is why we have been able to locate and render safe a number of IEDs that were designed to, and probably would, kill Australian troops.”
One such occasion was during Operation Sydney 4, a five-day operation in late August to construct an Afghan National Police checkpoint.
An ASLAV patrol was returning to the forward operating base after a reconnaissance mission when it approached a choke point.
The mission commander, Sgt Wade McFarlane, ordered a vulnerable point clearance and deployed the combat engineers.
Section Commander Cpl Jordan Sargent explained the clearance process.
“Our explosive detection dog, Flo-Jo, first picked up the scent of the device during her search,” Cpl Sargent said.
“We then sent in the search team which confirmed the device’s location with the mine detector.
“We partially excavated the device to reveal a 107mm rocket in the middle of the road and a pressure plate in the rut.”
RTF Operations Officer Maj Stuart Cree, who was travelling in the patrol at the time, said it was a great example of well-executed drills.
“The mission commander correctly identified the choke point and the engineer team were able to locate and then safely dispose of the IED, following the drills we have been practising from pre-mission training through all the operations,” Maj Cree said.
A few weeks earlier, while constructing another police checkpoint near Sar Regin, the RTF experienced a different sort of IED encounter.
While in their night loc, soldiers on picket observed men digging in the distance throughout the night.
An engineer search at dawn identified an IED that had been placed in a position previously used by the ASLAVs for overwatch.
An EOD sergeant from the IRR approached the device on his stomach to render it safe. “It’s the most dangerous part of our job, but there are a number of safety mechanisms we employ to keep us safe,” he said.
The device was pulled from its position intact so the EOD team could study Taliban construction techniques.
“We look at every aspect of the device, to try and identify who has made it and if there are any common features which might help us track him down,” the sergeant said.
“We then send it down to Kandahar to the Combined Explosives Exploitation Centre where it is studied in detail.”
The RTF learns from every IED that is discovered.
These lessons are passed on to soldiers and commanders so that the threat can be overcome and techniques adjusted.
The sergeant said the Taliban in Oruzgan had not developed the high-tech methods of the Iraqi insurgents, adding that their crude construction meant they targeted indiscriminately.
|
|
