Last updated: 13 Nov 12 @ 03:23  |  

In safe hands: lessons learned in past campaigns such as Iraq will be essential for future missions

Bruce Cochrane argues that the lessons of past improvised explosive device (IED) campaigns such as Northern Ireland and Afghanistan can influence current and future military operations

For an organisation that is proud of its history and operational experience, the British Army often has a short memory. Lessons that have been learned in the hardest possible way in one theatre of operations have to be learned again in another. Current operations must take priority, and this sometimes leads to a tendency to denigrate the experience of previous operations. This is as true in the counter-IED arena as it is in wider military and security contexts. This is unfortunate because there is little that is completely new in the IED world, and study of previous campaigns can yield insights into the way IED threats will develop.

Let us look at some current IED threats and see how new they are in British experience. How about command wire IEDs? The IRA used them in the 1920s and EOKA used them in Cyprus in the 1950s. What about IED main charges fitted with anti-lift switches? The Hagganah used them in