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EOD shares counter-IED operations with Hungarian army

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  • By Airman 1st Class Gustavo Castillo
  • 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany --  U.S. and Hungarian military members joined forces to teach awareness and identification of homemade explosive devices Dec. 4, 2012.

The 52nd Civil Engineer Squadron Explosive Ordnance Disposal flight welcomed the NATO allies to join their awareness training to exchange techniques, ideas and methods.

Working together in capacities like this contributes to smoother operations when combining efforts in contingency operations.

"The biggest thing is that Afghanistan is not a U.S. based campaign; it is definitely a NATO mission," said U.S. Air Force Capt. Matthew Borawski, EOD flight commander from Battle Creek, Mich. "Going to Afghanistan as EOD, we work with numerous countries."

During the training, both militaries learned how to identify problem areas and key indicators for potential explosive ordnance. Additionally, they gained an understanding of how to handle different scenarios and learn from every experience to defeat the device, attack the network and train the force.

Multinational training also supports NATO by creating a collective defense in response to an attack by any external party, Borawski said. Working together with NATO allies develops a more powerful and united force in deployed environments.

"Every nation works in a different way, and this is what we have to work on," said Hungarian army Sgt. Agnes Pinter, Hungarian Defense Force NCO Academy counter IED instructor. "All NATO counties should start working together to get their tactics, techniques and procedures closer to each other. Not in the theater, but at home."

The NATO alliance was formed with 12 founding members, but has grown to include 28 countries supporting the collective defense of the North Atlantic area.
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