An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir September 2014 www.dfmagazine.ie 16 | enhancing Force-protection by CAPT DIARMUID O'FLyNN, GP ASST OPS OFFR ISTAR TF hQ S ince 2008 the Defence Forces has been developing its C-IED capability through enhanced ground-sign awareness and situational awareness training and the introduction of new courses, such as the C-IED Instructors course. the latest development came with the running of the first Weapons Intelligence team (WIt) course in the ordnance School, DFtC, in April. the three- week course, which was attended by 20 students, was aimed at C-IED instructors, military police, and opera- tional EoD personnel. The objective of the WIT course is to develop a capability to respond efficiently to incidents involving the use of IEDs, and train personnel to provide tactical, technical and foren- sic intelligence at an attack site. It is designed to provide students with the knowledge required to work as part of a team to conduct post-blast scene examination, to recover evidence, and to use the evidence to provide analysis of ter- rorist/insurgent methodology. The course ensures that the student is able to conduct Level 1 WIT tasks as a component of counter-insurgency/ C-IED operations and to support the protection of deployed forces and the civilian population. C-IED training coupled with this WIT capability will assist in defeating or countering IEDs used by subversive, which trans- lates into a reduction in casualties and collateral damage. Subject matter on the course included recognition of the component parts of an IED; recognition of munitions; types of explosives used and their characteristics; basic electron- ics; photography; blast effects; current terrorist methods; forensic recovery equipment and its use; forensic recovery and documentation; collection of evidence; and the WIT process. The student is also trained in how best to obtain information from a scene through observations and ques- tioning of witnesses. A weapons intelligence team consists of four members: team leader, scribe, photographer and evidence gatherer. The role of the team leader is to gather as much informa- tion as possible from a scene using the team members' various skills. Having a WIT team with varying backgrounds helps to view a scene from multiple perspectives and prevents the kind of tunnel vision that can lead to missing a key piece of information. While a civilian police team may get hours to investigate a crime scene, the WIT team, due to the dangers of the operational environment, may be very restricted for time. Therefore, it is essential that WIT teams are highly trained, enabling them to gather as much evidence as possible from a scene in as little time as possible. Once collected, the evidence can be passed on to laboratories for more complex investigation, including DNA testing and finger- print analysis. IEDs are a major threat to peacekeepers all over the world. For example, they have caused nearly 70% of the casualties to ISAF forces in Afghanistan, which is why most modern armies, including the Defence Forces, have made C-IED training a priority. Devices come in a variety of different forms including command IEDs, radio controlled IEDs and victim operated IEDs. The type of IED used, its parts, and the way it has been assembled can all prove vital in the effort to trace those responsible for planting the device. The use of IEDs requires an entire network of bomb- makers, emplacers, financiers and recruiters. If this network can be disrupted then the IED threat can be reduced. One of the ways to attack the network is to gather evidence and intelligence at the site of an IED. There are two aspects to WIT, tactical and technical.

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