Kabul explosive role for Navy clearance divers
THE first time Lieutenant Commander Matt Carroll went to investigate a blast in Kabul, he was forced to take cover from enemy fire and found himself kneeling in the blood of a little girl about the same age as one of his daughters.
His job is to help Afghan National Police track explosives to the source and put the bomb-builders and terrorist masterminds behind bars.
The bodies of the pawns responsible for detonation are often blown around the street.
‘‘I didn’t like seeing the little girl,’’ LCDR Carroll said of his harsh initiation into the role last year.
‘‘ The bomb had gone off right next to a school.
‘‘ But most of the time you’re so focused on the job and collecting evidence that you don’t dwell on ( what you see). You do become desensitised.’’
LCDR Carroll, 36, is on his second tour in Afghanistan.
He works in a small team led by fellow Australian Navy clearance diver Lieutenant Commander David Shirvington, 31, investigating and trying to prevent blasts, at the International Security Assistance Force Joint Command in Kabul.
With two Americans, they help local police, intelligence and forensic teams, who run the criminal investigations.
LCDR Shirvington said training authorities not to contaminate a scene had been difficult.
‘‘People get excited about explosions and attacks — everyone wants to be there,’’ he said.
‘‘The police invite in media because they want to be on TV.
‘‘They have been getting prosecutions through the courts ( aided by developments in forensic capability), which is a huge step forward compared to five years ago when targeting suspects was based on human intelligence.’’
Copies of old Russian antipersonnel mines made in Pakistan — designed to blow off a person’s leg — are common.
Most attacks in Kabul are from large vehicle- borne bombs that weigh up to 5000kg and suicide bombers, who work in teams of two to
It’s anarchy when
we arrive
six for maximum impact, followed by insurgent gun fire.
‘‘ It’s anarchy when we arrive,’’ LCDR Shirvington said.
‘‘There will be a few dead insurgents, casualties, the fire brigade turns up to put out burning cars and buildings.
‘‘Bringing order to the site is what we do.’’
He questions witnesses while LCDR Carroll photographs the scene and collects DNA from the dead and evidence from the bomb to determine who was involved.
The four-man crew was on the ground after an explosion destroyed a marketplace and Afghan National Army bus — killing 10 people — near a Kabul university in the buildup to elders’ discussions on a bilateral security pact with the US almost two weeks ago.
They helped investigate a 1000kg car bomb that killed a mother and child and hit the first armoured car in a coalition convoy — the real target — at Green Village.
‘‘(Rebels) want to inflict as much damage as possible to undermine public confidence in us and their government,’’ he said.
‘‘There is a ring of steel around the city but you can’t stop everyone.’’
LCDR Shirvington will be based at the Navy’s clearancediving headquarters HMAS Waterhen when he goes home to Sydney in two weeks.
LCDR Carroll wants to hunt down unexploded WWII bombs in the Pacific when he returns in March.
But first he’ll holiday in Hawaii with his wife Kate and young children Sophie, Charlotte, Annie and Bill.
He said he had explained to the children what he does in Afghanistan.
‘‘It was a conscious decision to talk to them about it and we focus on the teaching aspect,’’ he said.
He said he never expected to be deployed to a landlocked country with the navy.
‘‘But there’s an expectation you’ll do the job you’re trained for and it’s certainly not a burden to be here,’’ he said.