Explosives Security Specialists Provide Key Training
News & Happenings
January 3, 2008
At Florida's Englin Air Force Base, military explosive ordnance disposal technicians prepare to board an aircraft with an X-ray to inspect a suspect package.
Airline captains face a difficult decision in the event of a suspected improvised explosive device (IED) being discovered while in flight – whether to direct the flight crew to move the IED to a less vulnerable part of the plane, or leave it in place and land.
Explosive security specialists from TSA's Office of Law Enforcement/Federal Air Marshal Service aid decision making by educating and familiarizing civilian and military bomb squads to the aviation environment.
During training, bomb technicians are introduced to the awkward environment of passenger aircraft and the maze-like atmosphere of an airport terminal with realistic, hands-on exercises to identify and resolve potential problems. This includes working in an aircraft's cramped confines while wearing a 90-pound bomb suit and discovering that many tools must be adapted for that environment. Training also includes practical exercises, such as requiring students to render safe a suspected explosive device discovered in flight.
To date, the U.S. military has requested 15 training sessions and the FBI has requested training at the Hazardous Device School in Huntsville, Ala., where public safety bomb technicians are trained.
