With the counterinsurgency slog through Iraq and Afghanistan in the rear-view mirror, the Corps is retooling the way it trains Marines to deal with the threat of improvised explosive devices around the world.

The Marine Corps Engineer School recently developed a streamlined counter-IED course to provide deploying units with more hands-on training and up-to-date intelligence tailored to the geographic area to which they’re headed.

A unit deploying to the Asia-Pacific region, for example, needs different skill sets from one headed to the Middle East, said Maj. Mark George, officer-in-charge of the school’s Defeat the Device Branch.

““The enemy is obviously evolving, and we’re taking steps to provide Marines and sailors with the very best training so they can learn the hard lessons up front before they step off to defend the nation,” he said.

The new curriculum builds on lessons learned in Iraq and Afghanistan, but reduces the amount of classroom instruction in favor of time in the field practicing for counter-IED operations.

A recent report by Marine Corps Intelligence Activity highlighted IEDs as one of the most significant threats Marines will continue to face over the next decade as adversaries use 3-D printers to produce cheap, virtually undetectable IED components.

Read More: Marine Corps Times

Featured Image – Lance Cpl. Scott Bone sweeps for possible improvised explosive devices during training at Camp Pendleton, Calif. The Marine Corps developed a new counter-IED course for deploying units.(Photo: Cpl. Garrett White/Marine Corps)