Sgt. Ronald Todd Gates (far right), mine detector trainer, 200th Engineer Battalion, Alabama Army National Guard, demonstrates sweeping techniques to Soldiers using the Army Navy/ Portable Special Search 14 mine detector April 12 at Training Area 14, Camp Victory, Iraq. Gates, 42, is a native of Demopolis, Ala. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Michael J. Carden) Army Sgt. Michael J. Carden MNC-I PAO March 20, 2005 CAMP VICTORY, Iraq – Traditionally, Army engineer units are responsible for a diverse range of construction and demolition projects. Specific units are known for their abilities to rapidly repair and construct runways, bridges, roads and various vertical structures. Others are known for their knowledge of demolitions and explosives. One engineer battalion deployed to Iraq has been challenged with a task much different from their day-to-day role as engineers. For that matter, their role is much different from that of any combat engineer unit in Iraq. The 200 th Engineer Battalion, Alabama Army National Guard, may be trained and well-experienced in the areas of bridge construction and construction management, but their current mission is to command and conduct operations as the Iraqi theater’s only Mine and Explosives Information Operations Coordination Center, also known as the MEIOCC. The MEIOCC is responsible for managing and tracking all of the explosive hazards in the Operation Iraqi Freedom theater. This includes improvised explosive devices and unexploded ordnance. They also track the operations and finding of several non-governmental organizations in Iraq who specialize in clearing mine fields, said Lt. Col. Eddie Porter, commander, 200 th Eng. Bn. and MEIOCC. The battalion mobilized onto active-duty status Dec. 18, 2004, to prepare for their deployment. They rushed to Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., to train and learn as much they could about their upcoming role in operating a MEIOCC in a combat zone. Porter said that when he and his Soldiers received the order and mission for their deployment to Baghdad, they had no idea what they were getting into. “We didn’t even know what a MEIOCC was,” he said. Once they began training at Fort Leonard Wood, they learned that the idea for a MEIOCC originated in the mid-1990s during the U.S. involvement in Kosovo. There were so many active mines and ordnance in the country that the Army’s engineer schools and commanders on the ground felt there was a need for a mine and explosives center to manage and track all of the ordnance in the area of operation. That particular center was so successful that it became the MEIOCC, Porter explained. “We had a lot of information crammed into our brains during a lot of long days and short nights at Fort Leonard Wood,” said. Sgt. Anthony Mills, information management officer, 200 th Eng. Battalion. “Traditionally, we ould be in command and control of engineer construction operations and projects. Now we’ve found ourselves dealing more with mines and explosives training.” The Soldiers learned that many of their jobs in Iraq would involve training From left to right: (First Row) 1st Lt. Steven Witherington, Sgt. Tracey Sourbeck, Cpl. David Segrest, Australian Army Major Allan Hollink (Second Row) Cpl. Benjamin Floor, Pfc. John Cogley, (Third Row) Marine Staff Sgt. Jason Dempsey and Cpl. Louis Foster are all members of the Explosive Hazards and Awareness Team on Camp Victory, Iraq. The team is mainly made up of Soldiers from the 200th Engineer Battalion, Alabama Army National Guard, but all of the troops are assigned to the Mine and Explosive Ordinance Information Coordination Center, or MEIOCC, on Camp Victory.U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Michael J. Carden (released) and teaching. The bulk of the 40-man headquarters detachment that deployed with the battalion is made up of two Explosive Hazards and Awareness Training Teams. There is also a mine detector training team, known as Team 14, Porter said. The EHAT teams are responsible for training all Coalition and U.S. troops who deploy to the OIF theater, making them aware of enemy munitions and explosive hazards – such as homemade bombs – that insurgents may use. Troops also learn how to deal with those hazards, Porter said. “Every single trooper deployed to Iraq has to receive EHAT training,” Porter said. “It’s our job to make sure they get it.” Team 14 is responsible for training combat engineers in Iraq on the Army Navy/Portable Special Search-14 mine detector system, which is the Department of Defense’s latest development in mine detector technology. The team members are the only personnel in the OIF theater with the knowledge, capability and facility to train personnel on the AN/PSS-14 system, said 1 st Lt. Steven Witherington, officer-in-charge, Team 14. “(The AN/PSS-14) is a very technical piece of equipment that is used in mine and unexploded ordnance discovery,” Porter said. Because of the AN/PSS-14’s unique capability, which combines ground penetrating radar and highly sensitive metal detector technology, it can be used to find metallic as well as non-metallic objects buried in the ground. “It’s an object detector rather than just a mine detector,” Porter said. “Our guys teach troops how to operate the AN/PSS-14 well enough to know what an object in the ground is before they ever even see it.” Many of the remaining MEIOCC personnel are also performing tasks that may be a bit different from their normal jobs in communications, mechanics or construction supervising. For example, what would normally be the battalion’s communications section now manages the MEIOCC’s tactical minefield data base systems, Porter said. “We’re all diverse in a lot of different areas because of life and civilian experiences, as well as the training we’ve received,” Mills said. “When you bring all of those experiences together, it makes for a very diverse force, a very strong team.” Although the battalion has set out to fulfill a very non-traditional engineer mission, Porter said that the morale of his Soldiers couldn’t be better. He attributes this to the great relationship his battalion has working under the command of the 20 th Eng. Brigade, XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, N.C. “Our morale is as high as any unit could ask for,” Porter said. “We’re working for the largest airborne unit (XVIII Abn. Corps) in the free-world, and even though we’re not an airborne unit, we’ve been treated with the ultimate respect.” “We just can’t jump out of airplanes,” Porter said with a laugh. Porter declared his airborne colleagues and Soldiers in Iraq, as well as all of the U.S. military’s service members, as the greatest generation of troops. Porter recalled recent experiences, in which he based his declaration. “In the nine months before we deployed, we enlisted 133 new recruits into my battalion’s two bridge companies,” Porter said. Porter said that he would visit the recruiting battalions and ask the new Soldiers, “You know there’s a war going on and people are dying, right?” “They would just reply by saying, ‘hooah, sir,’” Porter said. “I think that’s what defines us as Americans,” Porter continued. “Everyone currently serving in the U.S. military is a volunteer. Our young men and woman are always ready to step up to the plate and do the right thing.” Since arriving in Iraq in late February, Porter and his battalion have achieved much success with the training and missions they’ve conducted throughout Iraq. He and his battalion feel highly content with their non-traditional responsibilities and what they’ve accomplished in operating Multi-National Corps – Iraq’s MEIOCC, he said. “One of the most rewarding aspects of our job is that we can directly see results because of the training we provide,” Porter said. “We can’t pin-point this, but we know that what we do saves lives.” Because of Team 14’s mine detector class, more than 112 combat engineers in Iraq have graduated their course and are now proficient with the AN/PSS-14 system. The two EHAT teams have traveled all across the country, successfully training more than 9,000 troops, helping them become more aware of the insurgent’s number one choice of attack – IEDs. “Our goal in coming to Iraq was to return home with every Soldier we deployed with and to train as many troops as we possibly can in explosive hazards and awareness,” Porter said. “I think we are well on our way to accomplishing this. I couldn’t be more proud of the success my guys have had in the short time we’ve been here.”