Fort Campbell, KY. – As elements of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team (BCT), 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), prepare for deployment to Iraq this spring, their training took on a new aspect Sunday, March 6 as they conducted a Culminating Training Event.
Soldiers with Bravo Company, 39th Brigade Engineer Battalion of the 2nd Brigade fired a M58 Mine Clearing Line Charge (MICLIC) Rocket. The unit was the first within the brigade to do so on Fort Campbell. The MICLIC, as it’s called, is used for clearing IED’s and other obstacles.
Lieutenant Andrew Wheeler talked about the use of the MICLIC in a military situation. “What we would use it for would be to breach an obstacle. That would be something like a mine field or C-wire (Concertina Wire), something it would take a little bit longer to manually breach,” said Wheeler.
He added that with the MICLIC you can clear 100 meters of an obstacle in about two minutes. The rocket is fired over the obstacle and the attached charge detonates with about 1,700 pounds of explosives that clears a 14 meter wide path through the obstacle.
Sunday’s training on post didn’t involve an actual blast mainly because of regulations involving the use of explosives. In this case the explosion would have been very powerful and could have possibly caused damage to areas outside of Fort Campbell. The device was launched, but not detonated.
The training event is one of the last major training exercises before around 1,300 Soldiers deploy for nine-months in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. The final outcome of training for the ‘Strike’ Brigade will validate the task force on their mission of advising and assisting Iraqi Security Forces.
Major Ireka Sanders, Public Affairs Officer for the 2nd Brigade, said this particular platoon will be stationed in Kuwait as part of the brigade’s “Ready Force”. Commanders will have the option and if needed the Soldiers can train and advise their Iraqi counterparts on the MICLIC capability and use.