LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
A line of trainees at Lackland's Improvised Explosive Device Training Lane advanced along the training course in the early afternoon heat.
Suddenly, the group was enveloped in a rush of charcoal and dirt. They had just encountered one of the many simulated IEDs along the route.
Since January, the 2.5-hour IED training course of basic military training has prepared Lackland trainees for potential risks outside the wire during deployments.
The course is funded and organized by the Joint IED Defeat Organization, which provided more than $330,000 in funds, equipment and expendable material.
For the 737th Training Support Squadron's Tech. Sgt. David Nolen, the main purpose of the training program can be summed up in a single word.
"Awareness," said Sergeant Nolen. "Just being aware, nothing beyond that. Just straight up awareness."
In addition to raising trainees' consciousness about potential threats on the battlefield, the course also teaches them to identify the various types of IEDs.
Trainees start at the "crawl" phase of the program where they learn how different types of explosive devices function.
The walk phase of IED training moves trainees to the next level of instruction. Several static displays with mock-ups of explosive booby traps found in combat situations are presented during a 45-minute lecture.
The run phase, held each day at the quarter-mile IED training lane, emphasizes identification of and appropriate reaction to various camouflaged devices.
Several of the devices are simulated by are mock explosions caused by charcoal-and-air-filled balloons bursting. Each time students encounter a simulated explosive, instructors analyze and discuss it with the training group. The specific location, type and situation are all covered to heighten IED awareness.
To recreate conditions that Airmen would face in a combat situation considerable quantities of debris and decoys also litter the training lane. These extra elements are designed to make participants learn what elements they must pay attention to.
The decoys sometimes encourage individuals to stop and investigate them, leaving the main body of the group exposed to a simulated IED explosion.
The order and frequency with which booby traps on the range detonate varies, Sergeant Nolen said. This also recreates battlefield situations that Airmen may potentially encounter.
Because of these challenges, the run phase of IED training focuses on identifying potential threats before a unit walks into them. Instructors encourage trainees to look for telltale signs of camouflaged devices.
These indicators are often rocks, tree branches or suspiciously-placed piles of trash that may conceal an IED or its wires.
The IED training program at Lackland will expand in December with the addition of the sprint phase of instruction.
The sprint segment will occur on the Basic Expeditionary Airman Skills Training site at the Lackland training annex.
Students at the BEAST site will have a specific mission, moving from one point to another across IED-laden territory.
There will also be no alarms at the new location, as all encounters will result in simulated explosions.
According to Sergeant Nolen, the requirements for this new stage will be quite demanding, as once trainees set off a device, they are finished with the level.
"That's how it is in real life," he said. "You rarely get second chances."