Humanitarian Mine Action Program Trains the Trainer

U.S. Marines, sailors, soldiers and airmen have concluded their temporary joint bilateral Humanitarian Mine Action program in Kenitra, Morocco. U.S. instructors plan to return for advanced training sessions in spring 2020. The intent of the spring period of instruction is to supervise and pin the EOD badge on new Moroccan Armed Forces explosive ordnance disposal level-one instructors.

During the recent two-week training, the U.S. instructorsdelivered a “train the trainer” curriculum, covering a variety of topics suchas teaching techniques, public speaking, and course preparation. The trainingalso included practical application where students instructed their classmatesin the disposal of improvised explosive devices.

U.S. Instructors were all EOD technicians and the trainingdelivered adhered to both U.S. and international safety regulations. U.S.Marine explosive ordnance disposal technicians are all graduates of the NavalSchool for Explosive Ordnance Disposal where they complete nine months ofrigorous training to include locating, accessing, identifying, rendering safe,neutralizing, and disposing of ordnance. The technicians are also screenedannually to validate their proficiency in EOD policies and procedures.

The US military has a long history of training with theRoyal Moroccan Armed Forces. The HMA training further underscores the strongU.S.-Morocco partnership, improves the capacity of the Royal Moroccan ArmedForces to train its own EOD personnel, and contributes to greater security onthe African continent through Morocco’s increased demining capability.

Source: United States Africa Command