a mobilized year

By now, virtually everyone has heard (probably ad nauseam) of IEDs. I’ve become very familiar with these buggers, as I’ll elaborate on one episode in a bit. But, based on the number of questions that I’ve received concerning them, I wanted to first write a little about some of the unclassified (and publicly available) information that I’ve learned about them and how they are employed.

Not all IEDs are created equal. At the bottom of the barrel in terms of quality and effectiveness are poorly disguised mortar or artillery rounds (ranging from 120mm to 155mm) placed on the side of the road that are remotely detonated via wire device. AIF personnel will be somewhere between 50-150 meters from the roadside with a trigger device. Once the IED is detonated, the AIF run or drive away along a predetermined (usually concealed) route. Except in certain areas in Iraq, IEDs are currently not typically accompanied by small arms fire, RPGs, or other forms of engagement. It’s sort of a pop and run type tactic they use. Here’s a little more background on these types of IEDs: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/intro/ied-packaged.htm/

Somewhere above the basic IEDs in terms of quality and effectiveness, are those that employ better technology or require more coordination to properly employ. In this category, one or more of the following are present: more sophisticated triggers such as shortwave radio or FM frequency initiated devices (remote control, garage door openers, beepers, etc.) that allow the triggerman to be further away or allow quicker emplacement, the munitions are bundled (e.g., four 155mm artillery rounds in a cement casing), or the IEDs are part of a “complex” attack. The complex attack can mean that an IED round detonates in combination with small arms and/or RPG fire in a single kill zone. Or, it could mean that the IED are sequenced in time—a second IED is detonated one minute after the first in an effort to hit the “first responders,” who often (at least historically) dismount from their vehicle to assist those hit by the first IED. Another form of complex attack is referred to as a daisy chain IED, which is what hit us the other week. A daisy chain is a string of IEDs that are strung 50-100 meters apart and are typically detonated at the same time by a common igniting device.

Our experience with a daisy chain IED occurred when we were traveling north, just south of Baghdad at about 0200 in the morning. I saw the explosion of one of the IEDs about 75 meters in front of us (11 o’clock to our direction of travel). At the same time, I felt and only heard (but did not see) the explosion of another IED that seemed much closer at about 8’oclock to our direction of travel. The explosion literally rocked our 12,000+ pound vehicle. At first, I thought there was only one explosion (to our front) and that the noise may have ricocheted so that it only sounded as if the explosion went off behind our vehicle. But, the gunner, who was oriented to our 5 o’clock direction of travel at the time, confirmed that an explosive device just behind our vehicle went off. Unbeknownst to us at the time, the IED behind us caused a 2” piece of shrapnel to slice through a portion of the rear of our vehicle (we discovered this later). After the detonation, we emerged from the dust and debris of one explosion and moved into the dust and debris of the second explosion to our front. I did not see the aftermath of the explosion behind us, but the one in front of us disabled a "white truck" (a TCN-driven vehicle) traveling south. I (along with the rest of my crew) was remarkably calm throughout the entire event. Our reaction was well-rehearsed and automatic, which I’m sure was the primary reason we took the event in stride. While I didn’t expect us to react in an out of control manner, I was just somewhat surprised at how relaxed everyone was—like it was "just another day at the office.” As I said in an earlier post, “slow is smooth, smooth is fast” and that’s how we performed.

The most sophisticated form of IED to date are heavy shaped charges that are detonated by IR triggers. According to the BBC, the Brits think that these IEDs are actually brought in through Iran and the technology is actually Hezbollah based. Here’s an article on this type of sophisticated IED (although, I think the analogies in the article are over-sensationalized and somewhat exaggerated): http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4320818.stm

Somewhere in the mix of the above are VBIED and other suicide IED attacks. VBIEDs and other suicide IED attacks get a lot of the headlines, but are relatively rare (under 1-2% of all IED attacks).

While the number of IEDs have gone up, rest assured, so have our efforts in defeating or at least minimizing their impact. In the overwhelming number of IED attacks or attempted attacks that we encounter, we walk away from unharmed and equipment undamaged. There are a number of devices and tactics that we have and use to overcome and beat the IED threat. Just as the IED threat is evolving, so are our technologies, vehicles, and tactics. While for security reasons I can’t elaborate much on them, take a look at the buffalo and cougar vehicles (http://www.forceprotection.net/news/news_article.html?id=60) as examples. We (as in the US) have also increased the budget for a "new and improved" IED taskforce (3-star general level) to over a billion dollars to address the IED threat. While I don’t for a minute think that the IED threat will go away in the foreseeable future, we are making considerable efforts to minimize their effects.