2019 Eifel Krabben IED Rodeo

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Branden Rae
  • 52 Fighter Wing Public Affairs

Members of the 52nd Civil Engineer Squadron explosive ordnance disposal flight participated in an improvised explosive device training June 3-13, 2019 at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany.

EOD members from different nations are featured in the course of this exercise, called the 2019 Eifel Krabben IED Rodeo, in which members learn more about how to locate explosive devices and the steps to take to safely and effectively disarm them.

 “The purpose of this event is to strengthen our relationship with our NATO allies,” U.S. Air Force Tech Sgt. Lindsey Barrish, 52nd CES EOD craftman. “This gives us the opportunity to work beside them and help us work together in case anytime in the future we are called upon we can go out and work side by side with them seamlessly.”

Teams that participated in the exercise included EOD Airmen from Spangdahlem AB, along with EOD technicians from Belgium, Estonia, Germany, The Netherlands, Poland, and Sweden.

“Each team was presented with 14 unique IED scenarios that are based off of real-world threats,” said U.S. Air Force Tech Sgt. Jason Umlauf, 52nd CES EOD NCO in charge of supply and project manager for 2019 Eiffel Krabben Rodeo. “These scenarios provided exposure for the EOD teams so that they can run a problem from cradle-to-grave instead of only reading about them in a safety bulletin.”

All members had the opportunity to participate in and observe each scenario to expand their knowledge and proficiency in IEDs.

“The turnout for the 2019 Eifel Krabben IED Rodeo was very good, and participation has grown with each iteration,” said Umlauf. “A key benefit of our exercise is building relationships within the international EOD community; these relationships are the cornerstone of interoperability, whether we are operating locally or abroad.”