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Bahrain EOD Concludes Bilateral Exercise Neon Response
Story Number: NNS031021-05
Release Date: 10/21/2003 3:17:00 PM
By Journalist 2nd Class Denny Lester, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/Commander, U.S. 5th Fleet
MANAMA, Bahrain (NNS) -- Bahrain-based Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams concluded Exercise Neon Response Oct. 5-15, a bilateral EOD exercise conducted in Bahrain between the U.S. Navy and Bahrain Defence Force.
EOD Mobile Unit (EODMU) 4, Detachment (Det.) 4 and the Bahrain Defence Force Field Engineering Unit came together for the annual exercise to develop common doctrine, operation and tactics.
“The goal of the exercise was to teach, as well as learn with a foreign military and train on improvised explosive devices,” said Lt. Jonas Frey, EODMU4 Det. 4 officer in charge. “Cross training with foreign militaries is very important, because no matter how much you think you know, you can always learn something from somebody else.”
Exercise Neon Response is just one of the more than 40 joint military exercises the U.S. Navy participates in annually with members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, other foreign allies and friends, as well as other U.S. military forces in the region.
The two-week exercise consisted of a week of classroom lectures and practical applications, followed by a week of field exercises. The second week’s hands-on training included demolitions, and the tools and techniques used to defeat improvised explosive devices.
“In this exercise, we tried to cover every area an improvised explosive device could be placed,” Frey said. “From an automobile, to a boat, a ship, a building, an industrial complex or even wide open spaces, every area that we could cover, we tried to.”
The Bahraini forces, using techniques influenced by British EOD training, offered the U.S. team insight into a different school of thought, as well as an opportunity to observe the mindset of a different culture.
“We drew a lot of personal knowledge and worldly knowledge from them on how things operate in the Middle East,” Frey said. “We listened very intently when they gave their versions of search and witness questioning techniques. How they do it is very different from us, but very effective.”
“I was very impressed with their level of knowledge and their interpretation skills,” Frey added. “They were also tremendous hosts, and it was a true pleasure for our team to participate. We look forward to participating in more exercises in the future.”
“I hope the Bahrainis and ourselves learned that we can work together,” said Master EOD Technician Aviation Ordnanceman Chief (EOD/AW) Buster G. Stancil. “I hope they learned that they can work side by side with us, as we learned that we can work side by side with them. It breaks down a lot of barriers. Especially when you see a guy you’ve worked with before, you know you can trust him and it just makes it a lot easier.”
For related news, visit the Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/ Commander, 5th Fleet Navy NewsStand page at www.news.navy.mil/local/cusnc.
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