Fleet Diving Unit in Guam for IED exercise

FDU members work on an improvised explosive device (IED) in Comox at the end of February 2015, building valuable skills that can be used in exercises such as Exercise Tri- Crab.

FDU members work on an improvised explosive device (IED) in Comox at the end of February 2015, building valuable skills that can be used in exercises such as Exercise Tri- Crab.

Rachel Lallouz, Staff Writer ~

For the first time in Royal Canadian Navy history, Fleet Diving Unit (FDU) clearance divers will be attending Exercise Tri-Crab, an international, maritime improvised explosive devices (IED) exercise in Guam.

This will be the first time in the 10-year life of the exercise that Canadians will participate.

From May 2 to May 20, five FDU members will work in conjunction with the Singapore, Australian, New Zealand and American navies to practice disposing of IEDs on boats, jetties, piers, and in the surrounding water using special disruptors.  

“This is a great opportunity for us to work with other nations, learn from and share experiences, and it will ultimately make FDU members in attendance better IED operators,” said Petty Officer First Class Scott Ensor, Senior Instructor for the Training Department at FDU (Pacific).

Upon arrival, FDU members will undergo work-up diving in the local waters to familiarize themselves with the environment.

Then, they will team up with divers from the other participating navies to complete different IED neutralization scenarios.

IEDs situated under the water may be neutralized with the help of the FDU’s specific IED technology – the Van Guard IED Robot, a remote vehicle complete with cameras and a manipulating claw, or their marine sonar system, which is able to detect shapes in the water several hundred feet away.

IEDs to be neutralized on maritime surfaces above water will benefit from the help of the FDU’s extensive disrupter suite.

All equipment, says PO1 Ensor, was carefully packed into a 20-foot sea container and transported via ship to Guam just over a month ago.

“Other preparations for the exercise have included us updating our immunizations, completing health checks, and moving through work-ups to get our operators ready for the different diving scenarios we will be involved in,” says PO1 Ensor.

“We are ready for this great opportunity of neutralizing IEDs at the water line and below it, so it should be a great experience for the team,” adds PO1 Ensor.

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