RAF counter-IED team prepare for first Helmand deployment

In 2009, 75 per cent of UK casualties in Afghanistan were a result of improvised explosive devices. Reducing this sad tally has now become the main effort for Defence as Colonel Robert Herring, Assistant Head of Joint EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) and Search, explained:

"IEDs kill and injure a large number of both Afghan civilians and UK forces.

"To that end the MOD has been putting a significant amount of investment in resources to do something about it and it has been made Defence's highest priority.

"There is no single solution, there is no panacea. There is no equipment solution, no technological solution or particular way of operating that will solve the problem. It is a multi-faceted approach to solving the problem."

As part of that multi-faceted approach, the team from 5131 (Bomb Disposal) Squadron will, on the front line in Helmand, be responding to notifications from units on the ground of possible IED finds.

Working together with a search team from 33 Engineer Regiment (EOD), who will be tasked to identify and secure the device, the RAF bomb disposal experts will use technological aids such as the Dragon Runner robot to confirm, disarm and remove the device - thereby freeing up the route for other forces and Afghan locals.

Demand for their expertise is high, with the number of IEDs planted in Afghanistan estimated to have more than doubled in the two years from 2007 to 2009.

Commenting on the use of IEDs, Colonel Herring said:

"The insurgents are extremely mobile, agile and adaptive and they know they can't defeat us man-to-man, firefight-to-firefight, so they use what we call asymmetric tactics to engage us and their weapon of choice is the improvised explosive device.

"IED levels in 2009 have more than doubled compared to two years ago and we have seen an exponential increase in IED activity and the trend just continues to rise.

"And the threat from IEDs is not just a threat limited to Afghanistan, outside of Iraq and Afghanistan there are 300 IEDs a month that go off around the world."

In accordance with NATO strategy, three lines of operation have been adopted: attack the system, defeat the device and prepare the force.

Attacking the system involves targeting the insurgents' finances, intelligence systems and IED-making capability. Meanwhile, defeating the device involves specialist counter-IED searchers, bomb disposal experts, and the equipment they use to carry out such operations, and mitigating the effects of devices if they do go off.

Finally, 'preparing the force' is the doctrine that all Service personnel are provided with training and education to be aware of the threat and how best to counter it.

The plan is to institutionalise the counter-IED doctrine throughout Defence, with an understanding that it is not likely to diminish in the near future and will likely be a feature of any future conflict.

To prepare for their part in this strategy the search team of engineers from 33 Engineer Regiment (EOD) and the two teams of bomb disposal experts, one to be held in reserve, have been training for months.

They have been training alongside other elements of 4th Mechanized Brigade, which will replace 11 Light Brigade in Afghanistan for Operation HERRICK 12, taking over responsibility in April 2010.

Six-man search teams from 33 Engineer Regiment (EOD) will be deployed to search up to a suspected device and clear a safe path before the bomb disposal experts go in and either send in a remote-controlled device to investigate and detonate the IED in a controlled way or disarm it by hand.

It will be the first time that a bomb disposal unit from the RAF has deployed to Helmand province. However, they bring with them experience of working in the Falklands campaign in 1982, and since 1999 the RAF has continuously been part of bomb disposal operations overseas.

Squadron Leader Mick Haygarth, Officer Commanding 5131 (Bomb Disposal) Squadron, said:

"We have provided bomb disposal personnel to land forces in Kosovo, Bosnia and Iraq, as well as providing personnel to activate the Air Base in Kabul in 2002. A large contingent of RAF personnel were committed to the Joint Force EOD Group for the initial move into Iraq in 2003.

"RAF personnel ended up working with the United States Marine Corps as they pushed in to secure the oil fields in southern Iraq, and the Joint Force EOD Group received the Wilkinson Sword of Peace for their work during the initial stages of the Iraq campaign."

Despite their experience, they are aware of the size of the challenge that awaits them in Afghanistan, but, with typical dedication to the task, Senior Aircraftman Owen Muskett, a bomb disposal technician, summed up the attitude among the team:

"We have had all the training and are now just eager to get out there and put it into practice," he said.

See more stories about IED disposal under Related News.