November 3, 2005: The U.S. Department of Defense has set up a special school for the bomb disposal teams they send to Iraq. The âAdvanced Improvised Explosive Device Training Facilityâ is run by the U.S. Navy, and trains people from all the services. Because of the large number of roadside bombs used in Iraq (30 or more a day are encountered), the navy and air force have sent many of their bomb disposal teams to Iraq, to help the army out.
The new facility has six buildings typical of those encountered in Iraq, and the troops train using the remote control robots and other tools available to find and dispose of bombs planted by terrorists. There is a team of Seabees attached to the facility, to repair damage students are expected to make to buildings (like breaking through walls), in the course of their bomb detection and disposal efforts.
The bomb disposal specialists also learn about some types of weapons (chemical, biological and nuclear), that they have not encountered yet, but may in the future. |