Fort Stewart, GA

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Soldiers across the 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team recently had an opportunity to train with the Army’s newest minesweeping equipment, the Minehound, with the Asymmetrical Warfare Group and Division Engineers, which provided a 40-hour block of instruction at Evans Army Airfield and a practical application exercise at Training Area B-2, April 22- 26.

This new detector is set to replace the older minesweeper with advancements in its ground penetrating radar.

The Minehound expands the abilities of Engineers and Explosive Ordinance Disposal units by providing the Soldiers with the capabilities to detect underground mass and metallic objects simultaneously using new, advanced technology.

“The Minehound uses ground penetrating radar (GPR),” said Spc. Ellis Branch, a combat engineer assigned to Co. C, 1/3 Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, Third Infantry Division. “We now have the ability to find plastic type explosives with little metal content.”

In addition to adding modern state-of-the art technology to this detector, the Mindhound is lighter than its predecessor because of its carbon fiber composition.

“The carbon fiber composition is lighter than our previous detector,” added Sgt. 1st Class. James Booth, a platoon sergeant assigned to Co. C, 1/3 BSTB, 1HBCT, 3rd ID. “Soldiers can now conduct minesweeping operations for longer periods of time with fatigue taking much longer to set in.”

With this new, lightweight modern detector, Soldiers may have leveled the playing field with the improvised explosive devices used on today’s battlefield.