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thedrifter
12-18-05, 08:05 AM
Iraq: Kicking Team
Newsweek

Dec. 26, 2005 - Jan 2, 2006 issue - On a scorching day this past autumn, I rolled out of Camp Fallujah with four Humvees from the Second Battalion, Second Marine Regiment. The mission: "Route security." Six times a week the platoon spends eight hours driving up and down about a 10-mile stretch of highway looking for improvised ?explosive devices. IEDs are responsible for most U.S. casualties in Iraq. The Marines look for plastic containers, oil cans, a pile of dirt. The most efficient way to examine a suspect object, says platoon leader Lt. James Martin? Approach on foot, then kick. This method keeps security forces from possibly spending the day waiting for specialized demolition teams on what might be a false alarm. But it's risky: while most IEDs go off only if detonated by remote, some explode if pressure is applied. Martin recently came across a car tire's inner tube: "I gave the inner tube a big kick. Thud. It didn't move." Inside was a 155mm mortar shell—unlikely to explode on impact, but it could be detonated by an insurgent. In that case, Martin acknowledged, he wouldn't be having this conversation.

More than an hour into our patrol, we saw what looked like a tree branch on the road. Martin poked at it with the toe of his boot, then dragged the branch to the side. No explosion. Later, Martin raised his rifle as he moved toward a half-open cardboard box. He kicked it. Nothing again.

—Michael Hastings

Ellie