A U.S. Army Special Operations soldier with 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) conducts improvised explosive device (IED) training with a Holly Stick during Integrated Training Exercise (ITX) 3-19 at Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms (MCAGCC), California, on April 30, 2019. The Green Berets utilized the training areas at MCAGCC while supporting ITX as a special operations unit for force-on-force training.
The Holly Stick is a 10- to 15-foot-long bamboo stick with a hook attached at its end. The operator can use it to scrape a suspicious spot from a safe distance. Since its introduction in the late 2000s, IED findings have increased, especially in Afghanistan.
