Kent State Army ROTC cadets learn about Improvised Explosive Devices

Aubrey Johnson

#KWROTC

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In a hallway filled with trash, Kent State Army ROTC cadets walked along spotting Improvised Explosive Devices Wednesday as part of their training.

“Not only the various types of IEDs, but how to react to them, how to identify them, how to avoid them,” Cadet Glen Kreisher said. “You train constantly because the leading killing of soldiers overseas is improvised explosive devices.”

An IED is also known as roadside bomb. According to the website Global Security, it’s a homemade device that is designed to kill or maim people, using explosives alone or in combination with toxic chemicals, biological toxins or nuclear material. IEDs are often disguised by trash, cars and other debris piled on top of them.

National Guard 1st Lt. Ashley White, a 2009 Kent State alumna, was killed Saturday in Afghanistan after an IED explosion.

Commanding Officer Zachary Williams, a junior cadet, said the main objective of the lab is to ensure that cadets become familiar with and have a basic understanding of spotting and identifying the different types of IEDs.

Cadet Tony Miglets lectured his fellow cadets for about an hour. He said that one type of IED is called a command initiator, which includes a command wire and radio control.

He said an example would be an enemy attaching a cell phone to an IED, and when the number of that cell phone is dialed, it blows it up.

After the lecture, cadets headed out into the hallway to spot which piles of trash contained the hidden “bombs”.

Kreisher, 28, has been part of the military for 11 years and decided to come to Kent State last year. He said part of his military training included extensive information on Improvised Explosive Devices.

Kreisher said, “The U.S. government spends millions of dollars a year, training soldiers, hoping they don’t get killed by IEDs.”

Contact Aubrey Johnson at [email protected].