The British Army trains 31 Egyptian Army officers on EOD

01 July 2015 by defenceWeb

On 17 June 31 Egyptian Army officers from the Egyptian Explosive Ordinance Disposal Brigade completed an intensive two week Counter Improvised Explosive Device Search training package in the United Kingdom run by the UK’s Explosive Ordinance Disposal experts 33 Engineer Regiment (EOD).

The Egyptian officers were praised by their British instructors for their professionalism, enthusiasm and desire to learn, the UK embassy said. The course, based upon the British Army’s Advanced Search Courses, was designed and tailored to the needs of the Egyptian Armed Forces and the challenges they face, and allowed both sides to share the lessons of their recent operational experiences.

The course provided the students with a framework with which to precisely analyse intelligence and the threat in a given area and use it to design a safe and sophisticated plan that they then executed on the ground. This knowledge will be used by the Egyptian Army to foster a deep understanding of IEDs in modern day warfare, and how they can be defeated, the embassy said.

The students, ranging from Lieutenant to Brigadier, were set to return to Egypt to develop a Counter Improvised Explosive Device Search capability in the Egyptian Army.

The UK course instructor said that, “The Egyptian officers were vastly experienced: watching them apply the UK concepts of Search to scenarios they’ve faced in real life was incredibly rewarding. This training represented an opportunity for both nations to improve their understanding of the threats they face”.

Ambassador John Casson said that “Egyptian soldiers in Sinai today face the same terrorist IED threat that British soldiers faced for many years in Afghanistan. It is good that British and Egyptian experts are now exchange their professional skills and experience to defeat this deadly threat. We will not leave Egypt to face this murderous violence alone.”