New Tools Against IEDs

Story By: CPT Chris Blais, 505th PAO

BALAD, Iraq, March 20 – National Guardsmen from Georgia’s A Company, 878 Engineer Battalion, currently deployed to Iraq under the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), have a new tool in their fight against the ever-present threat of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs. Meerkat route clearance vehicles are now being used by soldiers on the Company’s road crater repair teams. A Company, headquartered in Swainsboro, GA, received the new equipment shortly after arriving in Iraq last December.

The Georgia Guardsmen, none of whom had ever seen the vehicles prior to the training they received in Iraq, have quickly grown to appreciate and respect the capabilities of the Meerkat.

”We received the Meerkat just after arriving to Iraq,” said First Lieutenant Calvin Oxendine, commander of A Company. “Our soldiers have come to trust and appreciate this equipment as they carry out the mission of making the roads safer for US and Iraqi Forces.”

The Meerkat, designed as a mobile platform to detect mines while protecting its operator from blast injury, is being used in Iraq to locate buried or hidden IEDs and other roadside threats as members of the unit conduct road repair operations. To date, the Meerkat has proved a highly useful tool for the Georgia-based Guardsmen, who recently located an IED with its detection system while traveling to their worksite.

A major reason the Peach State Guardsmen have become fond of the Meerkat is its unique, sturdy design and heavily armored hull, which allows it to take a direct hit from a mine or roadside bomb with maximum protection and minimum damage.

These vehicles are very tough allowing soldiers to get close to dangerous spots like large pot holes or existing bomb craters – insurgent’s favorite hiding spots for IEDs. On a recent mission, Sergeant William Meeks of Glenwood, GA, located an IED in an existing bomb crater from the safety of the Meerkat’s heavily armored cockpit.

A Company is currently attached to the 505th Engineer Combat Battalion, North Carolina Army National Guard, who provides direct engineer support throughout the entire 101st Airborne Division’s area of responsibility – basically all of northern Iraq. The vehicles, which were given to A Company after arriving to Iraq, will remain in the country as long as there is a threat from roadside bombs.

”These vehicles safeguard our soldiers who must work on the ground in Iraq’s most dangerous place – the roads,” said Lieutenant Colonel Matt Russo, the commander of the 505th Engineer Combat Battalion, A Company’s higher headquarters in Iraq. “Preventing successful attacks protects not only our soldiers but other coalition forces and civilians who travel these roads daily.”

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		TIKRIT, Iraq: Sergeant William Meeks, of Glenwood, GA poses in his “Meerkat,” a mobile mine detector currently being used to locate buried roadside bombs in Iraq. Meeks’ unit, A Company, 878 Engineer Battalion, recently received the new equipment to help in its fight against roadside bombs. Photo by Army Public Affairs.
	*Georgia Guardsmen Receive New Tools in Fight Against Roadside Bombs* Story By: CPT Chris Blais, 505th PAO BALAD, Iraq, March 20 – National Guardsmen from Georgia’s A Company, 878 Engineer Battalion, currently deployed to Iraq under the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), have a new tool in their fight against the ever-present threat of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs. Meerkat route clearance vehicles are now being used by soldiers on the Company’s road crater repair teams. A Company, headquartered in Swainsboro, GA, received the new equipment shortly after arriving in Iraq last December. The Georgia Guardsmen, none of whom had ever seen the vehicles prior to the training they received in Iraq, have quickly grown to appreciate and respect the capabilities of the Meerkat. ”We received the Meerkat just after arriving to Iraq,” said First Lieutenant Calvin Oxendine, commander of A Company. “Our soldiers have come to trust and appreciate this equipment as they carry out the mission of making the roads safer for US and Iraqi Forces.” The Meerkat, designed as a mobile platform to detect mines while protecting its operator from blast injury, is being used in Iraq to locate buried or hidden IEDs and other roadside threats as members of the unit conduct road repair operations. To date, the Meerkat has proved a highly useful tool for the Georgia-based Guardsmen, who recently located an IED with its detection system while traveling to their worksite. A major reason the Peach State Guardsmen have become fond of the Meerkat is its unique, sturdy design and heavily armored hull, which allows it to take a direct hit from a mine or roadside bomb with maximum protection and minimum damage. These vehicles are very tough allowing soldiers to get close to dangerous spots like large pot holes or existing bomb craters – insurgent’s favorite hiding spots for IEDs. On a recent mission, Sergeant William Meeks of Glenwood, GA, located an IED in an existing bomb crater from the safety of the Meerkat’s heavily armored cockpit. A Company is currently attached to the 505th Engineer Combat Battalion, North Carolina Army National Guard, who provides direct engineer support throughout the entire 101st Airborne Division’s area of responsibility – basically all of northern Iraq. The vehicles, which were given to A Company after arriving to Iraq, will remain in the country as long as there is a threat from roadside bombs. ”These vehicles safeguard our soldiers who must work on the ground in Iraq’s most dangerous place – the roads,” said Lieutenant Colonel Matt Russo, the commander of the 505th Engineer Combat Battalion, A Company’s higher headquarters in Iraq. “Preventing successful attacks protects not only our soldiers but other coalition forces and civilians who travel these roads daily.” \| Back \| GaDOD Home \|

Georgia Guardsmen Receive New Tools in Fight Against Roadside Bombs