Do I have to approach the exact spot? If you must go to the firing point, clear towards the POO from several hundred meters out. Make every effort to locate potential trigger men. The enemy knows you are coming to the POO and approximately when you will arrive. Be prepared. Do not rush to the firing point and then look for the triggerman.
It will be too late! Technique: Instead of rushing to the firing point, immediately establish traffic control points TCPs around routes leading to the POO location.
Search departing vehicles to find the mortar tube and enemy. Figure If it looks suspicious, it is! When they arrived, they found that the rocket launchers were mounted to the top of a car. While investigating the vehicle and rocket launchers, an IED inside the vehicle detonated. Make maximum use of optics to include binoculars, night vision devices NVDs , and thermals to investigate the POO from a safe distance. Use aviation assets when available to minimize ground troop exposure.
This type of IED is hidden along the route, but they are placed outside the customary search limits used to detect artillery-based IEDs. In the past, most roadside IEDs were found within 10 feet of the edge of the road.
With the increased use of stand-off IEDs, which are generally found farther from the edge of the road, patrols may need to modify their search techniques. These devices are most effectively used at choke points or turnaround points, where CF vehicles must stop or slow to maneuver. The first two stand-off devices provide AIF a direct fire, anti-armor weapon system while maintaining maximum survivability.
As the device detonates, the metal facing forms a high-speed slug, which can penetrate armored vehicles. A platter charge, with an improvised directional antipersonnel device in close proximity, was found near one IED attack site.
We are all familiar with traffic cones and what they are used for. In Iraq, traffic cones can serve as concealment for an IED. Enemy forces placed an artillery round and what was believed to be an radio controlled receiver inside a traffic cone. The traffic cone was placed next to a Jersey barrier where it would blend in and not be considered out of place.
Danger Recovering Abandoned Vehicles Sometimes the tactical situation after an ambush does not permit the immediate recovery of damaged vehicles. So what should units do when given the mission of recovering a vehicle that has been abandoned? The first thing is to remember that you may be traveling into another ambush. Study the area around the vehicle and look for possible firing points for an IED.
Have patrols check out those areas before moving in close to the abandoned vehicle. Use binoculars or other optics to study the ground around the vehicle and also study the vehicle. An IED may be emplaced inside or on the vehicle itself. Only after security is in place and the area has been checked should Soldiers begin the recovery process.
EOD may be effectively used to sweep the area with robots prior to making a manual approach. The fuel truck began burning and was abandoned. Two days later when recovery assets returned to recover the truck, an IED was found on the vehicle. The enemy emplaced the IED to target the Soldiers tasked with recovering the vehicle. Knowing that coalition forces will return to recover a damaged vehicle makes the vehicle a lucrative location for an IED. Mounted movement requires thorough preparation and rehearsals, regardless of the type of unit or vehicles used.
All movements in theater are combat operations. Units do not run supply convoys; they conduct combat logistics patrols CLP. Patrolling and combat logistics patrols have some common considerations, but they also have quite different objectives. Frankly, for patrols and convoys, it is impractical to stop at everything that might be an IED. There is too much debris on the sides of the roads. Ensure you do a proper mission analysis, and do not risk secondary fires or injury for no reason!
Patrolling One of the most important things you can do to protect yourself and your unit against the possibility of an IED attack is to limit your predictability. This is much more than varying the times of movement. You also need to consider varying routes, movement techniques, and your TTP for dealing with different situations. Remember, the enemy is always watching. For example, if you react to a specific situation such as a disabled vehicle or suspected IED the same way every time the enemy will quickly catch on and will use this knowledge to his advantage.
In an effort to counter route predictability, patrols should change direction at seemingly random intervals, especially in areas of previous IED attacks. Where practical and safe, move against the normal flow of traffic, turn around at points not normally used, and move overland parallel to an established route in order to vary your observable movement tactics.
It is beyond the scope of this document to cover the TTP and capabilities of the systems you will have available in theater. You should incorporate CREW TTP in pre-deployment training to identify how you will use the equipment and adjust your staff to best use this system.
Actions at Halts No one single set of procedures will work for all situations. If a patrol or convoy must stop during movement, employ techniques to create standoff. Remember to conduct 5 and 25 meter searches as described in the following section. In addition, establish your own local security every time the convoy or patrol halts.
Avoid clustering vehicles and vary the vehicle interval between elements. If you will be stopped for any length of time, improve your position constantly and consider contingencies hasty and deliberate defense for the site you are occupying. Most importantly, do not remain at one site too long. The enemy has planned and executed attacks against units that remain in place too long. At all halts, Soldiers must clear the area around their vehicles.
Depending on the length of time at the halt, the area to clear varies from 5 to 25 meters. At every halt, no matter how short, the crew must clear 5 meters around the vehicle while inside.
For extended halts, teams must clear 25 meters around the patrol or convoy. Begin 5 to 25 before stopping to avoid stopping on top of an IED. Then conduct a physical check for a radius of 5 meters around your position. Be systematic, take your time, and show curiosity.
If the tactical situation permits, use a white light or infrared IR light at night. The unit had been in the position for about minutes when an IED detonated in close proximity to their position, resulting in both casualties and damage to equipment. All patrols must remember that it is critical to conduct thorough searches immediately upon halting, in order to discover any potential hazards.
Top gunners and security personnel should be alert and constantly aware of any vehicle approaching their patrol or parked along the route. Within the ROE, any suspicious vehicle should not be allowed to approach coalition forces. Employ warning signs to tell civilian drivers to remain clear of a moving convoy. Convoy and patrol members should know the authorized escalation of force procedures.
Units have been attacked by vehicles turning into a patrol from oncoming traffic. Maintain an aggressive security posture and have a plan for dealing with civilian traffic. Conduct a proper mission analysis to determine how and if you are going to allow civilian traffic to pass or come within close proximity to your convoy.
If you are going to allow civilian traffic to pass your convoy, make sure you have developed a technique to visually check cars and drivers as they approach. If you are not going to allow civilian traffic to pass your convoy, make sure that you have a plan to let Iraqis know to stay back, and have a plan for the escalation of force.
This can include, but is not limited to, the use of signs in Arabic, formations that take up all lanes in the road, visual signals, use of an air horn, and the use of flares to warn cars to stay back before firing disabling shots. Remember, by creating standoff to control the battlespace, you can prevent the enemy from successfully employing his VBIED.
Do not make yourself a potential target. The Soldier in the gunner position must be capable of making the decision of when to skip these steps and shoot immediately i. Figure Use signs to caution local drivers to remain clear of patrols. Traffic moving to the right east is forced across the median to the westbound lane. The lead security vehicle waves westbound traffic to the far lane, making room for the eastbound traffic. The lead vehicle can move back to the eastbound lane once the initial westbound traffic moves to minimize its exposure.
While many TCPs do not turn up anything of consequence, there are numerous cases of TCPs resulting in significant finds. Commanders are authorized to apply the factors of METT-TC in accordance with their analysis of the battlefield environment to achieve the desired intent. This technique ensures the TCP is quickly emplaced, executed, and recovered before insurgents are able to coordinate a dedicated response with a VBIED.
Small arms and rocket propelled grenades RPGs have also been used against TCPs that remain in place for extended periods. Additionally, a TCP that remains in place for an extended period loses its effectiveness. Word gets out, and insurgents can avoid the TCP. Establish a TCP on a stretch of road.
Shortly afterwards, establish secondary TCPs on potential escape routes. This bottles up AIF. If an insurgent sees the first TCP and attempts to turn around, he will run into the secondary location. Care needs to be taken to ensure TCP locations are random and time windows varied. In addition to limiting the time TCPs are emplaced, leaders should maximize the tactical spacing of coalition vehicles within the TCP and employ as many measures as practical to limit civilian traffic to close proximity of static troop concentrations.
The enemy can predict the cover you will use. Figure Temporary traffic control point. Combat Logistics Patrols CLPs One of the biggest mistakes that a Soldier can make is to start thinking he is a supporter and not a shooter.. Administrative peacetime procedures do not work, especially in Iraq. We are all taught never to leave the scene of an accident in peacetime. The police will give you a ticket! Yet stopping after a minor fender bender and awaiting the arrival of the police may be the wrong thing in Iraq.
Soldiers are also taught to drive with their lights on in the daytime. Not in Iraq! Lights on in daytime signals the approach of a military convoy, which gives the enemy additional time to prepare his ambush.
The enemy is trying his very best to kill coalition members riding in vehicles. CLP commanders should use troop leading procedures and rehearsals for each and every convoy. Leaders must conduct PCI of vehicles. Inspect tow bars, tow straps, and chains for self-recovery.
Check the location and fill of fire extinguishers. Discuss the route, vehicle separation, and frequencies with convoy members. For convoys that have larger vehicles, consider embedding a wrecker in every convoy for quick recovery. Leaders should prepare, brief, and rehearse contingency plans for wrecks, flat tires, stalled vehicles, direct or indirect fire contacts, and actions on contact with an IED, both pre- and post-blast. Keep in mind that the on-scene commander will have to make on-the-spot decisions.
Not every circumstance can be covered by contingency planning. Be prepared to adjust to the specifics of your situation. Review escalation of force rules for civilian vehicles that approach too closely. Immediate Action Drill Proficiency While traveling on a route near Baghdad, a supply convoy was attacked by enemy forces. Using their standing operating procedure SOP , the convoy continued through the kill zone and stopped at what they felt was a safe distance away.
As they surveyed the battle damage—one flat tire—enemy mortar rounds began impacting around them. Now, the convoy commander had to choose: abandon a vehicle or continue repairs under enemy contact. In the end, the convoy quickly replaced the tire and continued on their way. Do not think for a moment this was an isolated incident. The enemy knows our general reaction patterns and applies this knowledge to launch follow-on attacks. So, are you and your Soldiers prepared to execute vehicle recovery procedures, like towing or changing a tire?
When was the last time you rehearsed them? You do rehearse them, right? For example, if you get a flat and you do not have a lot of security with you, you may have to drive on the rim to the next forward operating base FOB. If you have a wreck, you might have to wait and report it to the proper authorities when you get to a safer area. Do not put your most inexperienced vehicle in the trail position and your most experienced driver in the lead, you are setting up the trail vehicle for an accident.
Let the medics and combat lifesavers do their job. Your job is to follow the ROE and do everything in your power to neutralize the guy who just tried to kill you. Lots of lives have been saved because the ballistic glass was up. Many have been lost because the ballistic glass was down. Avoid them. Do not allow your vehicle to straddle them. The enemy likes to use them for observation points. Watch them closely. Use M4s to allow top gunners to cover overpasses.
Try to put your wheels where the guy ahead of you put his. It worked for him; maybe it will work for you. Pre-deployment Preparation Drivers need practice handling tactical vehicles at the higher speeds used in theater. Leaders should arrange for a safe training location, and drivers should learn how to operate their vehicles at high speed greater than the 35 mph used in garrison operations in urban, rural, day, and night scenarios.
Any IED that detonates should be treated as an enemy contact. Contingency plans and rehearsals are key to concluding the contact, hopefully with the capture or death of the bomber. If you find an IED before it explodes, you must treat it like it will explode at any moment. The insurgent at the firing point may be waiting for more Soldiers to gather around the device before setting it off. He may be moving from an observation point OP to the firing point.
Training on basic tactics, techniques, and procedures TTP will enable you and your unit to win the engagement. You should always assume the device will explode at any moment. From a safe distance and using a minimal number of personnel, look for IED indicators.
Use any hard cover you have available while attempting to confirm the suspected IED, and never risk more personnel than the tactical situation requires.
Use all tools at your disposal, to include moving to a better vantage point. Use optics to look for tell-tale signs of an IED: red detonating det cord, antennas, electrical wires, or exposed ordnance. Never ask civilians to remove an IED. When in doubt, back away. Do not ever touch. Note: Do not attempt to do the job of explosive ordnance disposal EOD or engineers.
Evacuate the area to a safe distance around meters but do not set a pattern. Assess whether your distance and cover is adequate. Direct people out of the danger area, and do not allow anyone to enter other than those responsible for rendering the IED safe, such as EOD.
Question, search, and detain as needed. When you move to a new location, always check for secondary IEDs. Team members should always scan their immediate surroundings for more IEDs.
Report additional IEDs to the on-scene commander. Remember; vary this distance to avoid setting a pattern! Figure Clear the Area A patrol investigated a tire they spotted on their route that they considered to be suspicious and found two projectiles with a remote initiator. As they cordoned the area, they discovered an improvised rocket launcher IRL attached to a tree pointed towards the location of the primary device.
The launcher was meters north of the IED in a palm grove. The device consisted of a high explosive anti-tank HEAT round in a steel pipe that was affixed approximately four feet high to a palm tree.
It too had a remote control initiator. This incident highlights the importance of sweeping degrees around suspected IEDs when cordoning the area. Let your higher headquarters know what you have found. LINE 1. Date-time group DTG : When the item was discovered? LINE 2. LINE 3. Contact method: Radio frequency, call sign, point of contact POC , and telephone number. Type of ordinance: Dropped, projected, placed, or thrown; give the number of items if more than one.
LINE 5. Nuclear, biological, chemical NBC contaminations: Be as specific as possible. LINE 6. Resources threatened: Equipment, facilities, or other assets that are threatened. LINE 7. Impact on mission: Short description of current tactical situation and how the device affects the status of the mission. LINE 8. Protective measures: Any protective measures taken to protect personnel and equipment. LINE 9. Recommended priority: Immediate, indirect, minor, no threat. Establish blocking positions to prevent vehicle and foot traffic from approaching the IED.
Immediately search the safe area for secondary IEDs before occupying it. Make maximum use of available cover. Establish degree security and dominate the area. Scan close in and away from your position. Most likely, the enemy is watching and waiting to make his move. Randomly check people leaving the area to deter attacks. Establish obstacles to control approaches to security positions. Control the site until EOD arrives. Clear and set up an entry control point for first responders.
Make contingency plans in case you are attacked by small arms or rocket propelled grenades RPGs. Should you be part of a patrol or convoy that finds an IED, the five "Cs" will help to ensure that the situation can be dealt with quickly and safely.
You are in the kill zone! Instead, use standoff optics like binoculars and spotting scopes from multiple angles to attempt to confirm the presence of an IED. When in doubt, back off and call EOD. Do not pick up det cord. Det cord is an explosive and the presence of it alone is enough to call EOD. As for tracing and pulling on it…well, ask the Soldier that lost all his fingers on one hand when the det cord he was tracing exploded.
Tracing command wire CW. An IED, once found, is not going to move. Look for additional devices. Look for the trigger man. Look for anyone trying to escape the area. Scan for enemy moving into position to engage you with small arms or RPGs. Focus outward. Again, once positive IED indicators are found det cord, wires, etc. Even when you do everything right tactically, the enemy can sometimes surprise you. For this reason, it is important to review some tactical principles for post-explosion actions.
Remember, an IED attack is an ambush. It is important to note that the results of an IED attack can range from catastrophic to no damage at all.
The enemy is not always successful with IED attacks. If you are attacked, your reaction to contact drills will have to be modified based upon vehicle damage and casualties. Immediately scan outward. The biggest mistake Soldiers make is focusing inwards toward the site of the IED detonation and forgetting about the enemy. Obviously, some Soldiers will have to assess the situation, communicate with higher, tend to wounded, and recover vehicles.
Every other patrol or convoy member should scan around the location for the enemy. Look for enemy personnel or associated activities. If detected, engage the enemy under the ROE or attempt to detain them. Anyone fleeing the area with or without weapons should be considered suspect. A vehicle, such as a sedan or a motorcycle, rapidly departing the area may have enemy inside.
Patrols can use testing kits to check for the presence of bomb-making chemicals or gunpowder on individuals. Soldiers should have clear instructions on dealing with civilian crowds.
After an attack, a crowd may begin to gather. This will only become worse the longer your unit remains at the site of an attack. Soldiers should have clear instructions on how to deal with looters. Deadly force usually is not an option, so alternate techniques should be discussed and practiced beforehand.
Media may show up at a scene; it is important to know how your ROE and command guidance applies to their presence. Patrol members clear routes to ensure freedom of movement for coalition forces CF and civilian traffic.
Familiarity with the area to be cleared is one key element in successful IED hunting teams. Teams must use all means available to find IEDs and to prevent themselves from becoming a target. On the other hand, many IED hunting teams use simple equipment to observe changes in their assigned area. Binoculars, spotting scopes, white searchlights, and thermal sights can assist IED hunters.
The single most important consideration for IED hunting teams is to vary their actions. As has been said several times, do not let your searches become predictable. Searches should appear completely random to outside observers. Anyone watching the patrol should never know what is coming next. IED hunters use many techniques to throw off enemy observers. Teams start their daily searches at a different point each time they clear a route. Patrols use a different road to get to their assigned route each time.
Teams can search a short stretch of road, then pick up and move the search to an area several kilometers away. While searching, units can move against traffic on the wrong side of the road, or they might search several hundred meters and then make a U-turn. Patrols may drive up an entrance ramp the wrong direction.
One engineer unit changed the composition of the patrol each time it departed the base camp. Technique: Instead of starting at one end of a route and driving to the other, consider patrolling one section and then reversing the patrol.
Move to another entry point for the route and patrol the opposite direction towards the turnaround point. While the equipment and enemy may vary, these guidelines can help organize counter IED patrols. Review daily intelligence reports and debriefs from previous patrols. This is one point where you want to set a pattern. Soldiers who are familiar with a route will know when changes have taken place. They will know what the roads and trails look like and what garbage and dirt piles are new.
You must drive slow enough to detect IED indicators. While convoys and other movements should go as fast as practical, IED hunters should move slowly and deliberately while searching. Moving in the center of the road gets the team further away from IEDs in the event of a detonation. Ask locals if they have seen unusual activity you will need an interpreter.
Consider any item suspect if it is new, recently disturbed, or out-of-place. Look closely for other IED indicators such as wires or detonating det cord. It has halted to check the area with optics from several vantage points. All of the good souvenirs were picked up long ago by other Soldiers or local people. Something left on the ground that appears valuable most likely was placed there deliberately.
Remember, the enemy is trying to conceal the device from someone traveling on the route. IED hunting teams that look at the route from potential enemy observation points often find signs of IED preparations.
Insurgents can get careless once they get out of sight of the main route, and they may leave wires, camouflage, or even the IED itself in plain sight.
Offset teams searching parallel to the protected route can observe these indicators. If you are author or own the copyright of this book, please report to us by using this DMCA report form. Report DMCA. Home current Upload. Words: 2, Pages: 2. Preview Full text Loading documents preview They may be hastily camouflaged with dirt, rocks, trash, or of items that are common along the road. Early in the operations, these devices were command detonated with usually an attack of small arms fire or RPG rounds.
Clear Leave the immediate area; detonation may be imminent, secondary devices may be present. Step 2. Step 4. The enemy has established collapsing circuits and booby traps to catch you when you try defusing.
Leave it to the experts. An IED can be almost anything with any type of material and initiator. And vehicles of every imaginable sort can become a vehicle borne IED. Vigilance in performing your duties and ensuring there is degree security are keys to not becoming a statistic to the IED threat. Line 2. Line 3. Line 4. Type of Ordnance: Dropped, projected, placed, or thrown. If known, give the size of the hazard area and number of items.
Without touching, disturbing, or approaching tripwire the item, include details about size, shape, color and condition intact or leaking. Line 5. NBC Contamination: If present, be as specific as possible. Line 6. Resources Threatened: Report any threatened equipment, facilities, or other assets.
Line 7. Impact on Mission: Provide a short description of your current tactical situation and how the presence of the UXO affects your status. Line 8. Protective Measures: Describe any measures taken to protect personnel and equipment. Line 9. Indirect Minor No Threat 1 3. Throwing devices from overpasses or from the road-side in front of approaching vehicles or the middle of convoys; usually done by males of all ages.
Employed along unimproved roads targeting patrols. IEDs are unpredictable and extremely hazardous to all, including the Bomber. Emplaced in potholes covered with dirt. Worn by attacker suicide vests ; possibly employed by women to gain proximity to Coalition Forces. The person firing the device escaped before he could be engaged. Using a decoy device out in the open to slow or stop convoys in the kill zone of the actual device that is obscured along the route of travel. Battery Types of Explosives Used 1.
Camouflaging devices with bags of various types to resemble the garbage along the roadways or burying these devices in the roadbed. Spool of wire, battery, and a remote device were located at the firing observation point. At the top of a dirt mound. Wireless Doorbell Cell Phone RC Unit The adaptation of using radios, cell phones and other remote control devices has given the enemy the standoff ability to watch forces from a distance and not be compromised.
Cinder Block the enemy has continued to improve there techniques, and more sophisticated and destructive devices are being discovered.