IEDs in Afghanistan: The Deadliest Weapon

Bryon Pitts Reports On The Dangerous Mission of Clearing IEDs in Afghanistan

(CBS)  Last month was the most lethal yet for American forces in Afghanistan.

And most of the Americans were killed by the deadliest weapon in the enemy's arsenal: the roadside bomb, or IED, an improvised explosive device.

IEDs killed more than 40 American and coalition forces in October alone, up from five two years ago.

In response, the U.S. military has gone on the offensive.

Search and destroy missions are carried out across Afghanistan by a small army of elite units called "Task Force Paladin."

Only volunteers are allowed to serve on Paladin teams because the mission is so dangerous.

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It was after midnight last month at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. President Barack Obama went to the base as America's war dead came home.

Eight of the flag-covered caskets contained the remains of Americans who had been killed by roadside bombs in Afghanistan.

"It's been a terrorist tool of choice for many, many years," Col. Jeffrey Jarkowsky told 60 Minutes correspondent Byron Pitts.

Col. Jarkowsky was in charge of Task Force Paladin when we visited Afghanistan.

"'Look at us. We can kill, we can maim, we can destroy when we want to, and the Americans can't stop us,'" Pitts remarked.

"That's their intent, yes," Jarkowsky agreed.

The colonel says his squads are having more success finding those bombs. We spent two days on the road with Army Captain Dave Foster and his Paladin team. They were on patrol for less than an hour when they discovered their first bomb. It would not be the last.

"The IED that we found had a 107 millimeter rocket connected to a command wire. As the team was doing dismount and ops they found the command wire. A 107 millimeter rocket has approximately about eight pounds of explosives in the warhead," Capt. Foster explained.

They spotted it near a family's home. Staff Sergeant Max Cabrera found and then disconnected the command wire - or detonation wire - disabling the bomb.

Six Paladin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since 2008 on similar missions.

Despite the risk to himself, Staff Sgt. Cabrera picked up the bomb, and to avoid civilian casualties, he carried it behind an abandoned building and blew it up.

"You get scared, but when you got so many things going through your mind, you just don't even know what to concentrate on sometimes," Cabrera told Pitts.

Asked if he's scared, he said, "Yes sir. Everybody is. Lets you know you're still alive."

Cabrera is 26. His home is on the island of Saipan, in the West Pacific.

Asked what it takes to do the job of disabling bombs, Capt. Foster told Pitts, "A belief that you are making a difference and a little bit of craziness."

"A little bit of crazy goes a long way in Afghanistan," Pitts remarked.

"Yes sir. It does," Foster said.

[Stillfighting]

Incomplete reporting. Go figure. These guys are on the tip of the spear and they are collecting the information/intelligence to put these murdering SOB's back in their hole. This is a multi echelon, multi level fight that includes the brigade combat teams and a host of reachback that will ultimately mitigate and defeat the threat and provide the US and the Afghan Gov't with viable options. Defeatest attitudes and mentality are NOT what our troops should be hearing from a homeland perspective and thank God that they continue to do what they do despite mainline media that would slant to a story that they wish to portay for political purposes unrelated to National objectives.

[mysteriousjz]

A Question: Who is in whose country, who is occupying and bombing whose territory?

[rwsmith29456]

Is this NEWS? We've known that for years.

[bubbadubba]

The Republican plan for victory in Afghanistan, keep sending troops until the enemy runs out of IED's killing and wounding them (and innocent civilians of course).
No joke. Republicans are EVIL brownshirt neo nazi thugs.

[pierave1234]

Stop praising CBS/60 minutes for this story!!!

Yes the subject matter of the story was amazing, the fact that these men volunteer for such a dangerous mission gives me chills, and I cannot express how thankful I am.

However, this reporter was a jerk. Yes, that is a childish word to describe another person, but it gets my point across. His closing line of questioning was so condescending. He asked questions and then edited the piece to make us believe that soldiers believe the measure of success is going home.

How dare you! You had the opportunity to be with heros, true heros, and that is sound bite you close with? You should be disappointed in yourself, but because your goal is agenda reporting, you are probably patting yourself on the back...how sad.

It is clear you took no time this week to reflect and give thanks to the men and women who fought to make it possible for us to have free speech, and you to have a job.

[eodzzz]

I'm an explosive ordnance disposal technician stationed in southern Afghanistan right now. We are a part of Task Force Paladin and roll out everyday with Route clearance patrols just like the ones in this story. We drive, they dig, they find an IED, we take care of it. I've read a lot of people's comments on here saying there is no point to us being over here, and that these patrols we do are especially pointless. But understand that by us clearing these routes, we save a great deal of lives, and if you think a soldier surviving the day does not equal success than there is something seriously wrong. People back home can argue all day about what the goal is for us being here in Afghanistan. But you ask any one of us who put our necks on the line everyday and the goal is to make it back home. So please take all of your negativity and your insults somewhere else. To you our counter IED operations may not make a difference. But to the locals who get hurt by them, the soldiers who are killed by them, and the families of those people...we are making all the difference in the world.

And to the families, thank you for your support. It means everything to us over here.

(By the way come to Afghanistan, spend some time in the country side, then let's talk about paving all of these roads)

[Mandella1979]

Thank you for saying this. My husband is one of those route clearance guys. I'm proud of what he (and you) are doing--saving lives every day. It's easy for these people to think of all the solutions in the world as they sit in front of their computer screens and sleep in their cozy beds at night. God bless you, all the men and women over there, and the families who are keeping the home fires burning.

[steverenoj1]

Hey, ignorance should be ignored. Unless someone has been where you are at there is no reason to heed ugly comments. I for one believe that no matter what anyone's position is on the actual involvement of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, that you guys over there are fantastic. Keep on trucking. Don't sweat the small minded commentaries. You are heroes.

[db612]

My son is a Marine and just returned from a deployment in Afghanistan. I would like to say "thank you" to ALL those who support our deployed troops with your thoughts and prayers. They mean so much to us families who have loved one's serving over there. It is a very stressful situation, but I am so very proud of my son and the millions of others all over the world who willingly serve and make so many sacrifices.

Most of us are too weak to do what you do. God Bless each and every one.

Thank you CBS for a great story.

[RudyHarburg]

So a $1,000,000 armored bomb detector was destroyed by a $10 bomb ? 3 US soldiers were injured. The US commander declared a partial victory. Waste is astronomical when an agency (like the multibillion dollar agency JIEDDO ? Joint IED Defeat Organization) has virtually unlimited access to other people?s money.
Imagine a few thousand of the US troops already in Afghanistan, with night vision - setting up hidden cameras in probable locations - infrared, conventional, ? - cameras watching cameras ? catching people hunting our cameras - complimentary detectors? . Imagine the gargantuan, comprehensive, integrated observation network that could be set up for a billion dollars if a cost effective approach were taken (like if you were spending your own money).
Smart people within JIEDDO have likely hatched simple cost effective solutions ? maybe better and cheaper than a computer integrated satellite/camera/detector system. But JIEDDO has a budget to spend ? and a bigger budget to justify - little incentive to find a lasting solution to the road side bomb problem ? and certainly no incentive to find low cost solutions - infinanty more incentive to blunt the the Government Accountability Office.
Like dealing with the Colorado DOT a few years back. They were planning to build a temporary road around a mountain to divert traffic so they could hang lights in an arch shaped tunnel. Showed them a plan for an arch shaped rolling scaffold with brakes - bearing on the unused walks on each side of the tunnel. The scaffold would have allowed two men to hang the lights in a week without interrupting traffic. The CDOT guys got a big laugh - actually didn?t hesitate to point out that the project wasn't realy about hanging lights. Their job was to spend and justify bigger budgets.
Of course they cut down trees and built the temporary one way road, and backed up traffic for four and a half months while mammoth crews completed the project. Likewise, we can probably expect that JIEDDO will stifle any creative solutions and continue to send $1000,000 Goliaths out to battle $10 Davids.

[ridedaup]

You seem like a pretty smart person.....but its to bad that all you know how to do is complain about other peoples decisions, instead of getting involved in the solutions. What should the soldiers be doing then? How should this war be won? I'm guessing by how much you complain about the money spent, you make good money, probably upper class, and hate paying your taxes that go towards soldiers safety???

[morgan378]

This is why the offensives need to be maintained along with the surveilance of these roads. The offensives push the militants away from roads being used mainly by our military and makes planting of IED's dangerous for these marauders. Helicopter fly overs, upper air reconnaisance and patrols are the only way to keep our troops safe from these devises. The Americans in WWII would "cage" the area on both sides of the roads with a steel mesh that prevented the mining of the roads and even made previously planted mines less dangerous when detonated from the main supply beaches of Normandy. The Germans were very effective at planting mines that would go off two or three weeks after a road was being used. Why we can't designate some of these roads for such treatment I'll never know. Paving and heavy steel corridors should be used on main roads to prevent or at least help detect these killers.

[Califsue]

Thank you 60 Minutes for this amazing piece of journalism. To our military personel - be safe. I am very touched by your bravery and loyalty.

[advocatusdiaboli22]

To all you haters, why don't you come over here and do this stuff before complaining about policy, calling it a fake war, or just bashing our job, in general, that saves more lives than most could know. To everyone else thank you for your support and welcome home Sappers of MI. Also, the assets we have are great for finding things that are nearly impossible to find sometimes. As far as paving roads, they are still very prone to attack.

[AndyMaxo]

Thank God for the lives and the bravery of our American soldiers serving in that hell hole over there. That area is truly the sewer pit of the planet which attracts the most lowest form of human life on the planet. The area produces the world's heroin supply as well as the most intolerant relgious fanatics - the worst of the worst. That's why Bin-Ladin ran there to hide as it's the last place on earth for people to want to go.
I don't know if we can tame it or not. I wish we had a clear understanding of our goals so all of us including our precious soldiers would know what we are trying to do so we can finish it and get out as soon as we are done with whatever it is we are trying to accomplish.

[Ms_enza]

The saddest part about the losses in Iraq to IEDs was that the Aussies had a vehicle in 1998 that was available to purchase for US but the DoD wouldn't buy them...

Wouldn't have given money to the contractors who hire US generals and colonels...

[Ms_enza]

The most effective weapons against the Allied navies in WWII were mines and kamakazis. It's been that way ever since in all aspects of war; probably before then too.

The US is not a signatory to any international treaties or bans on mines or cluster weapons.

What's that old bit about reaping and sowing?

[armymom2]

I just wanted to say thank you to CBS for doing a very good job on this piece. My son David is the captain being interview along with the men in his unit who risks their lives everyday to protect us. My son said it quite clearly, "AT THE END OF THE DAY WHEN ALL IS QUIET, I THANK GOD FOR WATCHING OVER THEM AND BRINGING THEM BACK SAFE." We are extremely proud of our son and we are very proud of all of our men and women who fight, risk their lives and protect this country. We need to do everything we can to ensure their safety and give them the military support they need to continue to defend this great country of ours and the people who live here. My son felt that CBS would be truthful and show the true dangers that they live with everyday.

[Califsue]

Best Wishes to you and your family. You should be very proud, this indeed is a task for very brave soldiers.

[mljohns00]

What a shame all those people on both sides dying for Bush.

[advocatusdiaboli22]

Yes, also for you, you're family, and every other American.

[Mortarman-29]

And its always good for the bad guys to die!

[truth-b-toll]

Nation building...
get out now.
thanks GWB / GOP ...
never vote republican...
your childs life may depend on it...
God help USA after Bush !

[lrnv]

After watching this segment, I have to say that President Obama had better be sure of himself if he doesn't pull the troops out. To me, this looked just like the soldier said, "Cat and Mouse". There would be no IED's if we weren't there. This is a game to those people and we lose every time someone goes out and gets injured, gets killed or we lose a vehicle - a MILLION dollars! Are you kidding me? Great, I'm glad they are protecting the fellows, but considering that 75% of the injuries are related to IED's, I don't think it's a great success. And, can someone tell me what the MISSION is? Don't say it's to protect us here in the US because that's NOT the mission and you are brainwashed if you think it is. We can't save every country from themselves. People have to stand up and take control in their own countries if they really want it to change. There will always be a fringe element. If you get the bad guys out of Afghanistan, they will just go somewhere else and then what, we follow them to that country? Round and Round we go with no end in sight.

[gcj92]

There is another layer to this article. An October 28, 2009, article from the LOS ANGELES TIMES (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-bombs-vision28-2009oct28,0,36980.story) noted two human traits which make it more likely for today's G.I. to find IEDs. This was from a scientific report supplied by the U.S. Army. The researchers noted that individuals who lived in more rural areas and who had experience in hunting AND individuals who lived in rural areas were better able to anticipate the presence of or likelihood of IEDs.
I wish the reporter on this story would have checked a bit closer to provide a more comprehensive view of the story.

[point02dollars]

I didn't realize it was THAT high a percentage that died because of IEDs in Afghanistan. Can't we think of some new things to add to our guys' toolbelt in looking for these devices and ambush parties?

I'm sure we're already doing something like, say, using infrared cameras in those hunter vehicles to scan the landscape being patrolled for unusual infrared anomalies alongside roads and in nearby structures that could house an IED or an attacker.

But there must be other similar feasible detection methods we could make use of by, say, calibrating cameras or other sensors to detect certain man-made materials like plastic and metal that a trip line or bomb components might be made of.

Perhaps we could spray these dirt roads and high-risk areas with some sort of substance that would be detectable under UV light, or something like that (there must be harmless and cheap substances that would fit that profile). Then it would be easier to see which roadsides had been disturbed in unusual ways that might be hard to see with the the naked eye or whatever other tools we're using now.

It just seems like it would save a lot of soldiers' lives over there if we would put together a fresh team of scientists or other relevant experts to brainstorm about new and innovative ways to cut down on IED casualties by drastically improving detection methods in ways like these. There have to be things like this we can do to help our guys out.

While we're at it, why not train a few more hi-res satellites on trouble spots so that when a bomb goes off, you can roll the video (or time-lapse images, or whatever) backwards to track the people who planted the thing, or to see where people who were suspiciously nearby at the time were before an explosion, or where they went after that. I'm sure there are plenty of satellites that would at least have the ability to do that in at least the highest-risk areas for bombs and attacks.

Like I said, 'm sure our guys already have excellent tools, but it seems like we owe it to our soldiers to think outside the box a little bit. Who knows, maybe a few simple things we haven't thought of yet will help turn the tide over there yet?

[ridedaup]

I think more technology is what we don't need. We need to get rid of all the liberal politicians and media that's not letting the military do the hunting, ambushing, and "unfair tactics" that are not allowed in war anymore. It's to political and cowardly now a days....brutal tactics and putting fear into our enemy always seemed to work well for us in the past.