Home Made Explosive (HME) Characterization and Training

The adversaries of the United Sates frequently employ homemade explosives (HME) as weapons of war. Domestically, home grown violent extremists (HGVE) and foreign nationals have employed HME as weapons of terror. As a class of materials, HME will vary widely in their composition, explosive performance, sensitivity to initiation and detectability. Due to this inherent variability and instability, HME poses a significant challenge to Public Safety Bomb Squads (PSBS) and military EOD operators as well as other members of the first responder community. To combat the threat posed by HME, the United States Bomb Technicians Association (USBTA) Team will develop methodologies to characterize HME in a manner tailored to the interests of PSBS, EOD and the first responder community and share that information in near real time at USBTA Technology and Training Exercises (TTEs) and HME awareness workshops with Maryland’s first responder communities. Also, in response to an increase in bomb threats at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), the USBTA Team will leverage existing relationships and partnerships with Maryland’s HBCU to develop and deliver Bomb Threat Management Workshops based on the results of the HME characterization effort.