Unit training to thwart IED threat

KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- A U.S. Air Force unit operating in Southwest Asia has developed an ongoing training regimen to counter the threat of improvised explosive devices.

Airmen from the Air Force's 379th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit, while actively deployed to counter IEDs in combat zones around Southwest Asia, have developed a non-conventional approach to better handle the evolving threat from explosive devices, the Air Force reported.

The explosive ordnance disposal unit spends hours every week practicing simulated situations designed to be as realistic as the conditions faced by troops in the field. Officials say the training involves developing techniques to counter threats ranging from 9mm rounds to large non-conventional explosives. In order to create realistic-looking IEDs, airmen will also rummage through dumpsters to find objects militants would have access to for making explosive threats.

"We get trained on absolutely everything including every aircraft and U.S. and foreign ordnance," Travis Few, 379th ECES/EOD journeyman, said in a statement.

"Whether it's a chemical or mechanical explosive, we handle it. We're training in-shop, setting up problems or doing classroom-type training to keep ourselves proficient."