The complete IED detection team
Regimental Combat Team-5, 1st Marine Division
Story by Cpl. Alfred V. Lopez

KHAN NESHIN DISTRICT, Afghanistan – A team of two jumped out of the vehicle as it came to a stop at a chokepoint on the road.

While Ace, an improvised explosive device detection dog, wandered around the vehicle, Cpl. Sean Grady, Ace’s handler and a pointman with Echo Company, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, began preparing his sickle and combat metal detector.

The pair then proceeded with what they do best: clearing a safe path for their fellow Marines.

They moved down the road in a carefully choreographed dance, methodically searching for the disguised and dangerous devices. Grady, a 27-year-old native of Otho, Iowa, launched Ace forward with an array of hand signals and verbal commands, while he swept the path with his CMD.

Grady’s choice to enlist in … Read More »