Paving over IED problem

Stars & Stripes:

Dirt: not something one normally thinks of as a serious hazard.

But in Iraq, where improvised bombs often rule the roadways, dirt presents a dangerous opportunity for insurgents. It’s an all too convenient hiding spot for roadside bombs.

Recently, the Marines with 9th Engineer Support Battalion were called out for two projects in Anbar province to take that option away from the insurgents. Just northwest of Fallujah, a key route to cross a canal was simply a dirt road — and a major hotspot for improvised explosive devices. So the Marines turned it into a 300-foot-long, concrete roadway.

“When we first came it was kind of a crappy road,” said Lance Cpl. Ben Martin, a reservist with Company B, 6th Engineer Support Battalion, 4th Marine Logistics Group, which is augmenting the 9th ESB in Iraq.

The 20-year-old from Osceola, Ind., said it was the first time the unit had built an entire road and done so much concrete work.

“It’s quite an undertaking,” said Chief Warrant Officer James Spencer, of Engineer Support Company, 9th ESB. He added the unit is designed for slightly smaller projects. They had to borrow some Navy equipment to get the six-day job done.

In addition to laying concrete over the dirt, they put footers down the sides of the entire stretch of the road.

“That prevents insurgents from digging down underneath and putting a [bomb] under the concrete,” Spencer said.

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This is a solution to the IED problem that makes a lot of sense and it also improves the country too. It will take more than a shovel to plant in this concrete road.