Chicago Device Engineer Mechanical Medical
The introduction and continued evolution of IEDs has been one of the most effective and lethal tactics for producing causalities among US and allied forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bomb maker’s goal usually is to produce as many casualties as possible and to demoralize other soldiers and civilians not directly affected by the blast. Sometimes, however, the enemy builds booby traps into their designs, making it especially difficult for bomb disposal experts to defuse the devices safely.
Major Chris Hunter describes the challenges presented by IEDs for bomb disposal personnel in his book, “Eight Lives Down.” Retired from the British army, he served as the Minister of Defense’s senior IED intelligence analyst. Now a counterterrorism consultant, he is a former chairman of the Technical Committee of the Institute of Explosive Engineers. His experience includes dealing with the following challenges which he described in his book.
Timed IEDs Detonate At An Unpredictable, Predetermined Time
An IED can be made of any explosive material. Often bombers use high explosives like those found in bombs, grenades, and artillery shells. The active materials in these weapons are called secondary explosives because they can be made to explode only by using a detonator. The activation of the detonator determines when the main explosive charge is set off. Once detonated, all the explosive material in these weapons explodes instantly, in a few millionths of a second.
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