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Staff Sgt. Bruce Boardman, improvised explosive device tactics, techniques and procedures noncommissioned officer, electronic warfare coordination cell, Multi-National Corp-Iraq, teaches Soldiers from the 603rd Aviation Support Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, Hunter Army Airfield, Fort Stewart, Ga., operating procedures of a counter-IED device March 2, at Camp Taji, Iraq. Sgt. Michael Carden

IED class improves Soldiers safety

By Sgt. Michael J. Carden

March 7, 2005

CAMP TAJI, Iraq (Army News Service, March 7, 2005) — A special Army unit in Iraq now has the mission to teach Soldiers about improvised explosive devices.

Until recently, there was no unit or section committed solely to learning and teaching Soldiers about IEDs, officials said. A unit’s knowledge and steps in reacting to IEDs were only based on past experiences in their area.

Now, because of research, data and information gathered from throughout the country, Multi-National Corps - Iraq’s Electronic Warfare Coordination Cell is able to teach these findings to Soldiers, to give them a better understanding of the IED threat. The Soldiers learn recognition, characteristics and placement of IEDs, as well as how to use counter-IED systems, said Staff Sgt. Bruce Boardman, tactics, techniques and procedures noncommissioned officer, EWCC, MNC-I.

“We’ll give an (IED awareness class) to just one person if that’s what it takes to save a Soldier’s life,” Boardman said.

Boardman and Sgt. 1st Class Robert Baskervill, another noncom in the cell, traveled to Camp Taji on March 2 to give the Soldiers of the 603rd Aviation Support Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, an IED awareness and counter IED systems class.

“IEDs are obviously a big threat. They account for a lot of the casualties in Iraq,” said. Capt. Ken Lizotte, operations officer-in-charge, 603rd ASB, 3rd ID. “I like the fact that we have two subject matter experts here who understand what IEDs are all about and who can emphasize the importance of awareness.”

During the two hour class, Baskervill and Boardman spoke about the general characteristics of IEDS, and described several different types.

The primary types of IED encountered by troops in Iraq are command-wire, remote, and vehicle born IEDs, or VBIEDs. Command-wire IEDs have a detonation switch, such as a garage door opener or washing machine timer, at one end of the wire and the explosives at the other end. Remote detonated IEDs are ignited by a transmitter, such as a cordless phone or hand-held radio. VBIEDs are vehicles turned bomb. They may have an extra antenna and can be detonated by using either the command-wire or remote detonation methods, according to Baskervill.

Baskervill and Boardman also talked about how and where insurgents may place an IED.

“(Insurgents) will put IEDs almost anywhere,” Boardman said. “Placed on power poles or guard rails, buried in the median or low shoulder of the road, or hidden in barrels, tires and trash are all possibilities. A lot of times, they will make sure there is a wall or canal between them and the IED. That way they think they have a better chance to escape or go unnoticed.”

“The enemy is very smart,” Boardman said. “They’re not just farmers with pitchforks.”

“(Insurgents) shouldn’t be underestimated,” Baskervill added. “Many of them have engineering and electronic backgrounds. They’re building (IEDs) from scratch.”

Along with teaching the awareness class, Boardman also joins several different convoys and dismounted patrols each week to assess how Soldiers react to IED attacks or IEDs that have been planted but not detonated, he said.

He stressed to the class that Soldiers should stay focused on their mission, and pay attention to the surrounding environment, when they are in convoy or on patrol. “The local people know if there’s something going on,” Boardman said. “After you’ve patrolled the same areas a few times, you begin to make mental notes about the amount of locals or traffic out and about. If, on a certain day, there’s no traffic or no people walking the streets, that could be a tell-tale sign of an IED or a planned attack. You have to look for things out of the ordinary like that.”

Baskervill and Boardman also talked about the importance of properly operating and executing tactics, techniques and procedures when using their unit’s counter-IED system during a convoy.

“Before the counter-IED systems were put out, the kill ratio of a detonated IED was 70 percent,” Boardman said. “Now that we have the systems, the kill ratio of a detonated IED is 30 percent. That‘s why it‘s so important for units to be aware of our class and the EWCC.”

“Because of this class, I’m more knowledgeable and I’ll be more observant,“ said Staff Sgt. Richard Samuels, motor pool, NCOIC, 603rd ASB, 3rd ID. “I learned a lot about how to react to and identify IEDs, which will better my chances of survival during convoys and patrols.”

“The IED situation will get better,” Baskervill said. “But hopefully (the EWCC) can help people become more educated to have a better understanding of their (counter-IED) systems’ capabilities and overall IED awareness.”

(Editor's note: Sgt. Michael Carden serves with MNC-I Public Affairs.)

Maj. Gen. William G. Webster Jr. listens as Maj. Gen. Mudhir Al Mawlla discusses the significance of the 41st Brigade during a ceremony honoring the activation of the unit March 3. Sgt. Andrew Miller

Iraqi Army 41st Brigade activates

By Sgt. Andrew Miller

BAGHDAD (Army News Service, March 7, 2005) – The 41st Brigade of the Iraqi Army was activated March 3 during a ceremony at an Iraqi Army training facility here.

More than 200 Iraqi Soldiers, who make up the headquarters element of the brigade, participated in the ceremony. Members of the brigade – who one U.S. officer called “the bravest Soldiers on the planet” -- have trained since November with U.S. Soldiers from the 98th, 1st Cavalry and 3rd Infantry divisions.

This month, the headquarters of the 41st Brigade will conduct a command post exercise, an evaluation that leaders from both forces will use to determine the overall readiness of the unit. If the unit is successful, it could be assigned to a sector of Baghdad in as few as six months, said the 98th Div.’s Lt. Col. Ed Tennent, the senior trainer of the headquarters element.

When ready, the 41st Brigade will assume responsibility of an area east of the Tigris River that includes Sadr City. The responsibility of that sector currently belongs to the 3rd Infantry Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team.

The brigades stand-alone readiness is being evaluated, but Soldiers who have worked with the unit say its members are courageous.

“These are some of the bravest Soldiers on the planet,” said Tennent.

“They have been threatened, run off the road, and ambushed while commuting to the training facility, he said, but they continue to show up.”

“A lot of them want to do something with their country and they have a lot of passion for that,” said Capt. Victor Ingram, an embed trainer from the 98th.

Soldiers of the brigade have set aside long-held differences to become a team, said Tennent. Many were a part of the former Iraqi Army and are now working with the U.S. Army they once fought against.

Command Sgt. Maj. Abad al-Razaq, the 41st Brigade command sergeant major, fought against U.S. forces during Desert Storm.

“I must change my country for the best,” said al-Razaq, “I give it a better future. Not just me, I need help. Whose help? My friend: the American Army."

Up to this point, trainers have focused on administration, logistics and noncommissioned officer and officer leadership, according to Ingram. Future training will include combat-oriented exercises.

Currently, only the headquarters element is assigned to the newly activated brigade. Tennent said no less than five battalions, however, will be assigned between June and July. Some of those Soldiers are already operating alongside coalition forces in combat operations.

Sgt. Marcus Miller, far right, a flight medic with the 50th Medical Evacuation Company of the 101st Airborne Division, deployed from Fort Campbell, Ky., and medics from the 86th Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad, Iraq, drive an improvised–explosive-device patient from the landing zone to the hospital entrance March 2. Miller and his medevac crew flew the patient, a civilian contractor, from Baghdad International Airport. Photo by Sgt. Michael J. Carden, USA

Fort Campbell Troops Work to Save Lives in Iraq

By Sgt. Michael J. Carden, USA American Forces Press Service

CAMP TAJI, Iraq, March 7, 2005 – “Never lose a soldier. No one dies on your bird.” This is the motto of the 50th Medical Evacuation Company of the 101st Airborne Division, deployed from Fort Campbell, Ky.

Almost every day since its arrival here in November 2004, the company has been challenged to live by that motto.

“When we get the medevac call, things are pretty chaotic,” said Sam Simons, a crew chief. “Dealing with casualties is never easy. You just do what you’ve got to do to help the medic save lives.” The company spent a year in Mosul, Iraq, during its first deployment to Iraqi. The company’s members were home for only nine months before deploying again. They have flown more than 1,100 combat hours in 12 Black Hawk helicopters.

The flight crews have executed more than 600 medical evacuation missions, transporting more than 800 casualties to combat support hospitals. Fifty percent of their missions have dealt with roadside landings on hasty landing zones, according to the company commander, Maj. William Howard.

Unit members agree no two missions are ever the same for the two pilots, crew chief and flight medic that make up a medical evacuation crew. Every time they receive a call, the possibilities and scenarios of what is in store are endless. They can’t afford to be unprepared or not proficient, said Staff Sgt. Thomas Harris, a flight medic.

“Every mission is different,” Harris said. “The call could be a mass (casualty) because of an insurgent attack or simply to pick up an appendicitis or hernia patient from his base camp’s troop medical clinic. We could take fire when we land. We might have to make a roadside landing in a city or land in an open field. You’ve got to learn to adapt pretty quickly.”

Adapting to different battlefield environments is something the crews do daily. Sometimes they’re called for a second mission before they’ve finished a current mission. They often have to react to several different situations in a single day.

“Some days we can sit around all day and not get called,” Harris said. “Other days (improvised explosive devices) and (rocket-propelled grenades) could be going off all day long. Some days we’ll get three missions in a row and end up flying for three hours straight evacuating troops.”

Simons said that he‘s been flying with a medevac crew for only about a month and a half. During that time, he’s flown more than 50 hours evacuating casualties and patients.

Once the crew is on the ground, the medic’s sole concern is the patients. The crew chief’s responsibility is to make sure the medic can stay focused without worrying about incoming fire. The crew chief is the medic’s security effort. “He’s my bodyguard. He’s my eyes on the perimeter,” Harris said of his crew chief, Simons.

“The medic can’t worry about things like security,” Simons said. “He has the health of the patient to worry about.”

After casualties are loaded onto the helicopter, the medic begins treating patients for secondary injuries, such as minor shrapnel or small-arms-fire wounds.

But sometimes the injuries are far too severe for the medic to treat in the air. Sometimes the casualties don’t make it at all, Harris said.

“Saving a life is the greatest feeling in the world,” Harris said. “But a lot of guys aren’t going to make it. You have to be able to deal with that. I go home with a lot of bad memories of the faces of guys who died and didn’t make it.”

The pressures and stress of being on a medevac crew may be more than most people can handle But the medics, crew chiefs and pilots of the 50th Medevac Company are well-trained, experienced and always prepared to save the life of a fellow soldier, Simons said.

“This job isn’t for everyone,” Harris said. “You’re dealing with casualties and blood. You’ve got to be able to work through that. If you let it get to you, you’re not going to be any good to yourself or the patient.”

(Army Sgt. Michael J. Carden is assigned to Multinational Corps Iraq.)