B*N*S*N2

Navy officer helps track down Taliban bomb-makers

A Military Operations news article

20 Nov 09

Part of the new Counter-IED Task Force in Helmand, Royal Navy Petty Officer Jane Watkins is using a biometric database system to help track down those who make and deploy the Taliban's deadly weapons.

Members of 63 Squadron RAF Regiment search the sand carefully for improvised explosive devices ahead of a patrol around Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan
[Picture: SAC Neil Chapman, Crown Copyright/MOD 2009]

After 20 years military service, Petty Officer Jane Watkins never imagined she would be playing a key part in fighting the threat posed by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to British soldiers in Helmand province.

She is working as part of the newly set up Counter-IED Task Force and her specific role involves managing the Biometric Database Capture System (BDCS); a means of collating personal information on the Afghan population to aid security checks on civilians and help track down those who manufacture and deploy the Taliban's deadly homemade bombs. She said:

"I was given the chance to come to Afghanistan and leapt at it. It's important to do a job where you feel you are making a difference. It's early days but I can see great potential in the database for tracking down insurgents."..

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