Bomb Jammer As Improvised Explosive Devices Evolve, Soldiers Work to Find New Methods to Detect Them

Bomb Jammers

Bomb Jammer As Improvised Explosive Devices Evolve, Soldiers Work to Find New Methods to Detect Them

GPS Jammers

2011-7-11 14:27:00

Wifi Jammers

FORWARD OPERATING BASE DWYER, AfghanistanU.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, visiting troops in southern Afghanistan, saw how the art of detecting burIED Bomb explosive devices has changed little, in some ways, since his Army days despite the billions of dollars spent by the Pentagon to improve bomb detection.

During a visit to Forward Operating Base Dwyer in Helmand province, Mr. Panetta, 73 years old, witnessed a group of Afghan soldiers training with long, crudely constructed bamboo poles with hooks at one end, scraping through a dirt field to find and destroy improvised explosive devices, or IED Bombs.

The sight reminded Mr. Panetta of when he served as an Army intelligence officer from 1964 to 1966. "When I was in the Army, you used to do that by bayonet," he said.

The IED Bombs planted today by Taliban insurgents in southern Afghanistan are far more powerful and sophisticated than the mines that troops faced in the 1960s, officials say. Commanders at the base told Mr. Panetta that insurgents use pressure-sensitive plates, wall-mounted explosives and remote-controlled devices to try to kill U.S. and Afghan forces on patrol.

IED Bombs planted by the Taliban are responsible for most U.S. casualties in Afghanistan. Mr. Panetta's predecessor at the Pentagon, Robert Gates, invested heavily in new technologies to try to minimize the threat. The military now uses specially designed armored vehicles to protect troops, sophisticated CTS Jammerss to block radio signals, as well as drone aircraft to spot insurgents planting explosives.

In Iraq, much of the investment fighting IED Bombs went into CTS Jammerss, which blocked radio signals that set off bombs. As a result, most bombs are now set off by pressure plates or command wires. CTS Jammerss are ineffective against those trigger methods, forcing the military to place more emphasis on spotting bombs before they are triggered.

At Dwyer, the Afghan trainees used the bamboo poles to feel at a distance for the telltale signs of an IED Bomb, such as protruding wires.

The bamboo-pole contraption was the brainchild of a U.S. Marine, whom commanders at Dwyer identifIED Bomb as Gunnery Sgt. Holly, who served in Helmand and was subsequently killed in an incident unrelated to his work with IED Bombs.

The 10-to-15-foot bamboo poles, referred to as the "Holly Stick," caught on fast among troops. Since they were put into widespread use in the area, IED Bomb "find rates" have increased by 35%, said Col. David Furness. He attributed the improvement to the methodical pace at which the hooks or sickles are used to scrape the earth.

Handlers feel for possible IED Bombs using the hook. A soft patch in the dirt is a sign the earth had recently been moved, an indicator that an explosive device may be burIED Bomb below.

A Pentagon body tasked with developing IED Bomb defenses is now making a U.S.-manufactured version of the Holly Stick that will be retractable so it can be carrIED Bomb more easily by foot soldiers, the defense secretary was told.

Mr. Panetta sounded impressed. "It's a good idea," he said.

During his two-day visit to Afghanistan, Mr. Panetta met with President Hamid Karzai and other top Afghan officials, as well as top U.S. commanders.

Mr. Panetta said he emerged convinced "we are on the right path" towards the goal of transferring full security responsibility to the Afghans by the end of 2014.

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device via Vodafone-Celcom Mobile.