thedrifter
01-16-09, 07:06 AM
Troops to train at base's mock Iraqi village
By Scott Hadly
Friday, January 16, 2009
On Combat Town Road, where it dead-ends at the ocean at Naval Base Ventura County, surveyors are mapping out the site for a new defense against one of the most lethal weapons in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Roadside bombs — so-called IEDs, or improvised explosive devices — are responsible for 60 percent of the deaths in Iraq. The percentages of those killed in Afghanistan by the bombs is steadily climbing. At least eight of the 21 local servicemen killed in Iraq and Afghanistan died in IED attacks.
On Thursday, Navy officials broke ground on a $5.3 million mock Iraqi village with a traffic circle, bridge, homes and mosque on a remote spot at Point Mugu. The work is to be done by J.I. Garcia Construction Inc. of Fresno. It’s expected to be done in nine months. Along with the real-life feel of an Iraqi village, the mock village will feature high-tech video and audio systems to help simulate combat situations, said Carlos Castro, operations manager for the company.
“We were given some design parameters but we also worked with the (military) trainers to give it a sort of Iraqi village feel,” Castro said of the design.
The so-called Battle Course will help train soldiers, Marines, airmen, sailors and Seabees in all manner of urban combat, but with an emphasis on detecting and disarming IEDs.
“It’s going to have an immediate impact on the survivability of sailors, Marines, airmen and soldiers,” said Capt. Brad Conners, the base commander.
The military has responded with a concerted effort to counter the cheap but deadly and highly effective bombs.
“IEDs have been our primary threat in Iraq,” said Lt. Jeremy Weigel, construction project manager.
Over the years, both the bombs and the response to them have evolved. In general, they are triggered with everything from car remote controls, garage door openers, cell phones, hair-thin crush wires and metal plates, and are hidden in dead dogs, piles of trash, under asphalt and in potholes. Sometimes, the crews would plant bombs so quickly that a convoy or patrol would hit a bomb, continue on its way and a new bomb would be planted in the same spot by the time the patrol returned to base.
By late 2003, the number of bomb attacks in Iraq was about 100 a month. By early 2007, the number of attacks peaked at 2,800 a month, according to Department of Defense statistics.
In 2006, the military created a Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, which has budget of about $3.45 billion. The Defense Department recently estimated that in Iraq it costs about $50 to get someone to plant an IED, which costs as little as $20 to make.
The organization’s mission is to “attack the network, defeat the device and train the force.”
“We are committed to fighting IEDs with all available resources, which is one reason why we help support the development of training centers like at Point Mugu,” said Lisa Browne, a spokeswoman for JIEDDO.
The organization is spending about $200 million building 30 similar centers across the country, said Browne. They will be used to train members of all military services, both active duty and reserve.
The robust response to the threat has included the development and use of radio signal jammers called Warlocks, huge armored Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAPs) trucks and robots. The heavily armored MRAPs have made the attacks much less deadly. And the number of bomb plants per month has declined.
Soldiers, Marines and sailors also are being better trained to detect the devices. That’s where people like Marine Capt. Tony Friel come in.
A trainer who is part of the 31st Seabee Readiness Group, Friel puts the Seabees through the paces before they deploy into a combat zone. He helped suggest some of the realistic touches planned for the facility, including a traffic circle with a Saddam-like statue in the middle and “dog boxes,” or small rooms, on the roofs of the buildings built to beat the heat.
The observation tower for monitoring exercises, including simulated urban warfare, will be hidden in a building meant to look like a mosque. The training center also must be adaptable to changes in how bombs are placed and used, said Friel.
When Seabees deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan, they work in small crews spread over large areas, building bases and small command outposts. The problem is that their supply lines are particularly vulnerable to attack.
The construction battalions rely on their convoy security teams to detect and avoid IEDs, said Lt. Commander Scott Anderson, of the 31st Seabee Readiness Group, which trains the naval construction force for overseas deployment.
“This will be a huge benefit for our Seabees, and it will become a critical element for their training,” Anderson said.
Ellie
By Scott Hadly
Friday, January 16, 2009
On Combat Town Road, where it dead-ends at the ocean at Naval Base Ventura County, surveyors are mapping out the site for a new defense against one of the most lethal weapons in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Roadside bombs — so-called IEDs, or improvised explosive devices — are responsible for 60 percent of the deaths in Iraq. The percentages of those killed in Afghanistan by the bombs is steadily climbing. At least eight of the 21 local servicemen killed in Iraq and Afghanistan died in IED attacks.
On Thursday, Navy officials broke ground on a $5.3 million mock Iraqi village with a traffic circle, bridge, homes and mosque on a remote spot at Point Mugu. The work is to be done by J.I. Garcia Construction Inc. of Fresno. It’s expected to be done in nine months. Along with the real-life feel of an Iraqi village, the mock village will feature high-tech video and audio systems to help simulate combat situations, said Carlos Castro, operations manager for the company.
“We were given some design parameters but we also worked with the (military) trainers to give it a sort of Iraqi village feel,” Castro said of the design.
The so-called Battle Course will help train soldiers, Marines, airmen, sailors and Seabees in all manner of urban combat, but with an emphasis on detecting and disarming IEDs.
“It’s going to have an immediate impact on the survivability of sailors, Marines, airmen and soldiers,” said Capt. Brad Conners, the base commander.
The military has responded with a concerted effort to counter the cheap but deadly and highly effective bombs.
“IEDs have been our primary threat in Iraq,” said Lt. Jeremy Weigel, construction project manager.
Over the years, both the bombs and the response to them have evolved. In general, they are triggered with everything from car remote controls, garage door openers, cell phones, hair-thin crush wires and metal plates, and are hidden in dead dogs, piles of trash, under asphalt and in potholes. Sometimes, the crews would plant bombs so quickly that a convoy or patrol would hit a bomb, continue on its way and a new bomb would be planted in the same spot by the time the patrol returned to base.
By late 2003, the number of bomb attacks in Iraq was about 100 a month. By early 2007, the number of attacks peaked at 2,800 a month, according to Department of Defense statistics.
In 2006, the military created a Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, which has budget of about $3.45 billion. The Defense Department recently estimated that in Iraq it costs about $50 to get someone to plant an IED, which costs as little as $20 to make.
The organization’s mission is to “attack the network, defeat the device and train the force.”
“We are committed to fighting IEDs with all available resources, which is one reason why we help support the development of training centers like at Point Mugu,” said Lisa Browne, a spokeswoman for JIEDDO.
The organization is spending about $200 million building 30 similar centers across the country, said Browne. They will be used to train members of all military services, both active duty and reserve.
The robust response to the threat has included the development and use of radio signal jammers called Warlocks, huge armored Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAPs) trucks and robots. The heavily armored MRAPs have made the attacks much less deadly. And the number of bomb plants per month has declined.
Soldiers, Marines and sailors also are being better trained to detect the devices. That’s where people like Marine Capt. Tony Friel come in.
A trainer who is part of the 31st Seabee Readiness Group, Friel puts the Seabees through the paces before they deploy into a combat zone. He helped suggest some of the realistic touches planned for the facility, including a traffic circle with a Saddam-like statue in the middle and “dog boxes,” or small rooms, on the roofs of the buildings built to beat the heat.
The observation tower for monitoring exercises, including simulated urban warfare, will be hidden in a building meant to look like a mosque. The training center also must be adaptable to changes in how bombs are placed and used, said Friel.
When Seabees deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan, they work in small crews spread over large areas, building bases and small command outposts. The problem is that their supply lines are particularly vulnerable to attack.
The construction battalions rely on their convoy security teams to detect and avoid IEDs, said Lt. Commander Scott Anderson, of the 31st Seabee Readiness Group, which trains the naval construction force for overseas deployment.
“This will be a huge benefit for our Seabees, and it will become a critical element for their training,” Anderson said.
Ellie