During April 2015 the EOD COE Training Branch organized two runs of the Homemade Explosives Course – basic. The courses were performed with the assistance of Subject Matter Expert from Ammunition Testing Centre Novaky and Institute of Energetic Materials (University of Pardubice, Czech Republic).
The courses were performed in the form of mobile training team as a part of sponsoring nation project, based on request of Hungary`s steering comittee representative. Both iterations of the course were held on the premises of the NCO Academy in Szentendre Hungary as well as military training area Csobanka, where the practical parts of the courses were executed. The courses were run from April 22 to April 24, 2015 and from April 27 to April 29, 2015 respectively. A total of 28 participants from various branches of Hungarian army were trained.
The first two days of each course consisted of theoretical lessons on basic chemistry of explosives, precursor chemicals for home made explosives(HME) manufacture and processes involved in illicit manufacture of HME as well as basic properties of the most common HME. At the end of the second day a laboratory demonstration of several processes was performed. On the final day, the course participants were given the role of “first responders“ tasked to verify the presence of an HME lab in a simulated scenario. Additionally, the participants were given the opportunity to make several HME mixtures that were detonated on a demolition range to demonstrate their effects.
All trainees successfully graduated, received certificates of the course completion, and expressed satisfaction with the content of Homemade Explosives Course – basic.
Author: 1LT Ján TARNOCI (SVK-A)