What we know                                                                                                    they don’t know                                                                                                   we know

Cpl. Shaun Dwyer of  D Co., 293rd Inf. Bn. gears up prior on the Sgt.Germaine L. Debro IED training lane located on Logistical Support Area Anaconda near Balad, Iraq. The Peru, Ind., native is conducting convoy security missions throughout northern provinces in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Photo by Staff Sgt. Les Newport

LSA Anaconda, Iraq (April 30, 2008) - Soldiers of the 293rd Inf. Bn. know the supply routes of northern Iraq as well as anybody. The Indiana National Guard unit has taken on a lion’s share of convoy security missions out of Logistical Support Area Anaconda. But according to Cpl. Shaun Dwyer, D Co., 293rd Inf. Bn., there is more to learn, always.

“If we’re not out running missions then we’re training, (rehearsing) evacuating casualties, and like we’re doing today, training for IEDs,” said Dwyer.

Dwyer and several other members of the battalion attended a three-day master course at Anaconda’s Sgt. Germaine L. Debro IED training lane conducted by Task Force Troy. The unit is a multi-national, multi-service task force responsible for gathering intelligence on IEDs and getting it those who need it most.

Chief Petty Officer Matthew Broderson has been assigned to Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal for more than eight years and is a member of Task Force Troy mobile training team. Broderson said that the highest learning curve occurs when students conduct team on team training.

“The big thing (is) to get them to them to think more like the enemy for placement,” said Borderson, “so next time they go out on a route they are thinking like the enemy.”

Borderson says his team also provides the latest trends of insurgent behaviors, and the expectation is that units will develop their own procedures for responding to threats.

“To get them to see the indicators of a possible IED and stop the convoy before they actually hit one. That’s our ultimate goal,” said Borderson.

The point is not lost on Dwyer who said it will be his job to take what he learns from Task Force Troy back to his unit. Installations provide training areas, aides and intelligence briefings to give units the greatest chance of completing security missions successfully.

“Everday the enemy is evolving, changing their tactics,” said Dwyer “(Task Force Troy) is getting us every little tidbit of information and we’re passing it down.”

But Borderson warns that the greatest risk is complacency. “It’s human nature to be comfortable, comfortable in your surroundings, to PT the same time everyday, to eat the same time everyday,” said Broderson. “It’s common sense and awareness. If a place “smells” bad, then they need to react.”

Another challenge for trainers is to keep information relevant by keeping it safeguarded. After the training, Borderson took the time to review video tape that had been collected during the exercises to ensure that no sensitive information would be inadvertently disclosed.

Staff Sgt. Dustin Gothrup, also a student in the IED class, said the information was valuable and needed to be passed down, but carefully.

“The more we know about them, the better,” said Gothrup, “But we don’t want them to know what we know.”

Story by Staff Sgt. Les Newport