Dispersing the threat

  • Published
  • By Capt. Marnee A.C. Losurdo
  • 512th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  News reports routinely state how improvised explosive devices take the lives of U.S. servicemembers combating the Global War on Terrorism. 

IEDs are considered one of the greatest threats in Iraq today, and a 512th Civil Engineer Squadron member played a role in dispersing that threat. 

Maj. Amber Kasbeer, spent six months dodging bullets, mortars and rockets and enduring 118-plus degree weather at Camp Victory, Iraq, near Baghdad International Airport. She served as the deputy J-3 operations officer for Combined Joint Task Force Troy, which is a multi-service, multi-national task force responsible for the counter IED efforts in the north and central regions of Iraq. 

The major, who returned in September, was responsible for the operational and controlled movement of all EOD assets and teams throughout Iraq. 

"At times, it was a challenge to integrate the limited EOD resources throughout Iraq to support the numerous Army Brigades and meet the surge's high operations tempo," said the major, who is the 512th Explosive Ordnance Flight commander here. On Jan. 10, President George W. Bush announced his plan, referred to as the "surge," to increase the number of servicemembers deployed to Iraq. "With all the additional forces in theater, at times it was difficult to get the people and equipment out to where they were needed." 

She also coordinated the distribution of new EOD technologies by sending them to EOD teams in the field for testing, oversaw the coordination of repair and distribution of EOD vehicles and equipment, and reviewed and corrected reports from the field, said the flight commander who oversees a staff of 13 EOD technicians at Dover Air Force Base. 

This is the second mobilization to Camp Victory for the major. She deployed from November 2004 to May 2005, serving under an Army EOD Battalion as their Air Force liaison officer, where she stood up all Air Force EOD assets used to support the Army's EOD missions. 

Since then, she said the demand for EOD assets has grown significantly. Another change she said she noticed was the increased use of forensic science to identify and prosecute individuals using and making bombs. 

She played a role in this process by reviewing EOD reports for operations security and providing usable information to the Law and Order Task Force in Iraq for prosecution of criminals in the Iraqi judicial system. 

"This was one of the most satisfying aspects of my job while deployed," said the civil engineer officer who worked 12 to 14 hours a day, seven days a week. "It was an opportunity to not only put a face on the enemy by directly identifying fingerprints or other forensic clues, but also to witness the country's legal system take action against these individuals." 

In addition to defusing IEDs, EOD technicians collect information about enemy bombing tactics, techniques and procedures, said Master Sgt. David Guenthner, 512th CES EOD program manager. That information is used to develop countermeasures to how insurgents operate and to identify and capture bomb-makers. 

EOD specialists bring in evidence gathered from the scene for review by forensic scientists, assigned to the Combined Explosive Exploitation Cell. The CEXC is a counter-IED forensics cell assigned to the Army's Multi National Corps - Iraq, headquartered at Camp Victory. The scientists analyze the evidence and forward the information to the Law and Order Task Force, said the major. 

"Instead of these people being glorified as "insurgents," they are now being treated as criminals, which in their culture is a significant shift," she explained. "Once someone is identified as a criminal, the perspective of how they are viewed by the local population shifts, and they are no longer freedom fighters, insurgents or martyrs, or glorified as such. This obviously helps change the aspect of what we are doing over there and helps Iraq begin to rely on their abilities to stand up as a nation. There's still a long way to go, but it was a small gleam of light in a rather difficult situation." 

When the 17-year veteran wasn't working she was trying to sleep. 

"One day I was taking a nap and the bullets raced through my camper," said the reservist who entered the Air Force in 1990 and joined the Air Force Reserve in 1998. "I was in a secure area, but we were fired upon almost daily. There were a few nights I was sleeping under my vest with my plates on." 

Now that she's back in the states, the major said she prefers sleeping under the covers. She also has a renewed appreciation for mundane day-to-day crisis' like waiting at traffic lights. 

"I walked into Starbucks the other day; there was a long line, and I listened to people's daily mundane crisis, such as my coffee isn't hot enough," she said. "I thought to myself, 'Oh, it's so nice to be here and not be fired at.'"