there is nothing we can really do to defend against them ,you have to consider the human factor in the situation .you never know when or where an IED will be you just have to keep an eye out folr the warning signs that we are trained for but once again there is the human factor . also the ied makers work every day on new IED's they evolve there tactics to counteract ours and we never know when or where they are.
WE just have to rely on our training and instincts. OH yeah and moving everything by air is not always safe either insurgents do shoot RPG at the helecopters.

The remedy to mines and explosive ambushes doesn't lie with defending against them, per se.

When the North Vietnamese were supplied new shoulder-launched guided missiles to use against American helicopters, the Americans didn't respond by welding armor plates to them – instead, they developed new strategies and tactics that involved decoys, escorts, jammers and cover that would make launching such missiles suicidal.

To relate it to today, some vehicles are mine resistant, but a big enough bomb will do the trick. Even the famed Abrams tank has been knocked out from time to time.

Perhaps different alternatives are in order. How about more dependence on air supply? Patrols using drones rather than Humvees? Research into more efficient off-road transport vehicles that can take random routes through the sand?

Mine resistant vehicles are all well and good, but in a future conventional war (the kind the military was built and trained for) they'd just be impractical.

The best way to defend against IEDs is to not have to defend against them at all! It is as simple as that. There is absolutely NOTHING that moves in Iraq in a convoy down the road that CAN'T be moved by air. Period.

stop dressing like soldiers and driving hummers. try to blend in. our desert cammo sticks out the same way the british redcoats stuck out when we fought our little insurgency.

what do you think would be a good defense against IEDs?

Training is the best defence against IED/VBIED attacks. Training is being conducted on all levels of the military in order to reduce casualties. Whether it is what to look for or how to drive in a convoy. I hope this helps.

Dillion

I personally feel that there is no way to make it easier to be in Iraq. My husband is there now, and I can not tell you the sense of pride I have knowing that the father of my children and the man I love is over there right now! BUT I **** it because I know there is realistically nothing that we can do to stop the IED attacks and make it safer. Then again, people used to do things alot harder back in old times… so maybe one day we can come up with something like Radars or UV eyeglasses or something that will detect these early on, so our men and women can stand clear of it.

GET THE **** OUT!

The best plan is to stop the supply of them – destroy them at their source, which is most lileky Iran and/or Syria.

But it's unclear whether America has the political will to do that.

Leave iraq (I had to put it cause of what you said lol)

But really

Better, thicker armor on vehicles seems to be the way to go.

make it so the guys don't need to sandbag the bottom of the vehicle.