An Improvised Explosive Device (IED) is a bomb whose manufacture and utilization does not conform to the rules of conventional warfare also called Homemade Bombs. The term IED was coined during the 1970s to describe the kind of explosives used by the Irish Republican army. It has however, gained notoriety in the war against terror in Afghanistan and Iraq launched after the 11 th September 2001 attacks. IEDs have been known to singularly change the cause of battles a popular case in point being the war for Haditha, a city in Iraq ( National Research Council, 2007) . In both Iraq and Afghanistan, IED has accounted for over 60% of US military death.
The IEDs can be categorized differently with different types in each form of categorization. These include by the warhead, the means of prosecution of the device, the materials used to make the designs and even the target (Kolesar et al., 2013). One of the best forms of characterization is by the warhead and these include Explosive Warhead, Chemical warhead, Biological Warhead, Radiological Warhead, and Incendiary warhead.
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Of prime focused is the generation of procedures to evaluate and establish the nature of IEDs non-intrusively. The five areas of focus that the Explosive Ordinance Disposal team uses to combat IED are defeat, diagnostics, emerging explosive threats, EOD operational tools, and remote control vehicles. The EOD team develops technologies that can be used to render safe IEDs. Secondly, the team should provide diagnostic tools that can help identify explosive devices.
The team focuses on developing procedures and tools that helps to defeat IED that are made from improvised materials. By analyzing the characteristics of the materials, they are able to identify the emerging threats hence, the best way of combating them. There should be EOD operational tools that will be used to access information through a well organized command structure ( Olson, 2012) . Finally, the team comes up with technologies that enhance its performance as well as use of robotic systems. Terror attacks calls for remote monitoring and effective communication.
In conclusion, there is need to train personnel and develop technology to safely handle and neutralize the IED once it has been diagnosed. This also includes the development of better equipped and reliable robotic Explosive Ordinance Disposal devices; it will also require coordination between the first response team, the on scene commander and the bomb technicians for a fluid approach to IED neutralization.
References
Kolesar, P., Leister, K., Stimpson, D., & Woodaman, R. (2013). A simple model of optimal clearance of improvised explosive devices. Annals of Operations Research , 208(1), 451-468. doi:10.1007/s10479-012-1126-1
National Research Council (U.S.) (2007). Countering the Threat of Improvised Explosive Devices : Basic Research Opportunities, Abbreviated Version. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press.
Olson, D. T. (2012). Tactical Counterterrorism: The Law Enforcement Manual of Terrorism Prevention . London: Charles C Thomas Publisher.
