US troops conduct counter IED training in Cameroon

U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal, or EOD, technicians are conducting a two-month humanitarian training mission in Cameroon.

Soldiers, from the 788th EOD Company, are training Cameroonian troops to counter improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, in the Central African nation.

The Fort Campbell, Kentucky-based 788th EOD Company is part of 184th EOD Battalion, 52nd EOD Group, 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives, or CBRNE, Command.

Headquartered on Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland, with Soldiers and civilians on 19 posts in 16 states, the 20th CBRNE Command is the Department of Defense’s only multifunctional formation, which combats chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive threats around the globe.

In addition to deploying for military operations, the 788th EOD Company handles explosive mitigation missions in Tennessee, Alabama and parts of Kentucky.

Two Army EOD techs, 1st Lt. Ben Weaver from Burnsville, Minnesota, and Staff Sgt. Ryan Zimmerman, from Georgetown, Kentucky, deployed to Cameroon.

Capt. Taylor Downs, commander of the 788th EOD Company, said Weaver and Zimmerman completed specialized training at the Humanitarian Demining Training Center in Rota, Spain, before the mission.

“This training and their experience as EOD technicians has allowed them to fully integrate with U.S. and Cameroonian partners to develop and expand the program of instruction in a short period of time and ensure success for expanded future operations,” said Downs, an Afghanistan veteran from Millis, Massachusetts.

Command Sgt. Maj. Harold E. Dunn IV, 20th CBRNE Command’s senior enlisted leader, said the humanitarian training mission was an example of the life-saving missions that 20th CBRNE Soldiers accomplish daily.

“From daily defense support to civil authorities missions across the United States to military operations around the globe, our troopers save lives, protect property and enable mission success,” said Dunn, a seasoned EOD leader from Fredericksburg, Virginia.