An Cosantóir

8 | EXERCISE GREENZONE I BY WESLEY BOURKE PHOTOS BY CPL NOEL COSS AND A/SEA DAVID JONES n October 2011 the Ord- nance Corps ran its 2nd International C-IED/IEDD Course (Counter Improvised Explosive Device/Impro- vised Explosive Device Disposal). The Defence Forces standing in this field is globally recognised, with 35 nations seeking places on the course. Taking place in the Cork area, Greenzone had students from Hol- land, Germany, USA, Italy, Romania, Spain, Belgium, and Israel. Students were presented with a whole range of devices and scenarios that they could possibly encoun- ter either at home or on overseas operations. Tactics Techniques and Procedures (TTPs) are essential to their approach. The students are expected not to just go up and blow the device up but they have to forensically take it apart for analysis; Defeat the Device, Training the Force, IEDD, and Attack the Network. The scenarios took them from Kilworth, to Fort Davis, Cork Airport, to Cork City Railway Yard. C-IED/IEDD is a multi-agen- cy and holistic approach. Working alongside the students were Weapons Intelligence Teams and Engineer Specialist Search (ESS) Teams. "We placed 48 IED's in the training area. With limited An Cosantóir February 2012 equipment but with a lot of knowledge, the students found every single one of them, commented Comdt Lane, "And no student was taken out by an IED. That's a remarkable statistic. It's all down to TTPs." All troops going overseas today are given C-IED train- ing and personal Tactical Aid Memoires (TAMs) that they can keep with them and study, this is having a huge impact. In 2007 the Ordnance Corps ran a questionnaire with troops deploying overseas: What is an IED in your own words, 80% didn't give an answer. This year with the 105 Inf Bn 90% gave a cor- rect answer, which is a very significant improvement. After being introduced to the students and viewing a team in action, Brig Gen Pakenham gave his appre- ciation of the work of both the Ordnance and Engineer Corps for their work in the area of C-IED/IEDD, espe- cially in enhancing peoples training and awareness. He commented that, "C-IED/ IEDD training is imperative not just overseas but also at home. Even as this course was taking place in the 1 S Bde area alone the Ordnance Corps and ESS Teams were called out to deal with several sepa- rate devices."

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