Our Principal Engineer, Bart Kemper P.E., is also a field grade engineer officer in the Army Reserves. He is currently the officer-in-charge of the 475th Engineer Detachment (Explosive Hazards Coordination Cell), a unit reporting to the 412th Theater Engineer Command. This unit is responsible for mitigating the effects of all Explosive Hazards — IEDs, mines, unexploded ordnance, and storage sites (military munitions, industrial chemicals, etc.). This mission includes conducting or coordinating intelligence analysis, forensic site investigations, “blow-in-place” explosive reduction of hazards, protective structure design and assessment, reconnaissance, and other related tasks. While the majority of the team are combat engineers and versed in explosives, conducting site investigations requires additional training.
Bart is a board certified forensic engineer and has provided many classes on the subject. He was selected to stand up the unit in 2017, but a successful organization does not rely on one person. The Attack Site Forensic Investigation Course (ASFIC) is a joint project between the US Army Corps of Engineers’ Engineering Research and Development Center (USACE ERDC) and the National Ground Intelligence Center (NGIC). Bart and others of his team went through this course, where the team learned how to process forensic sites for data related to projectile weapons, explosive weapons, and bare explosive charges and then analyze the data. Kemper Engineering Services is a proud supporter of our National Guard and Reserve forces.
Real-time video monitors allow the students to observe weapons effects on target vehicles from the safety of a bunker.
Different weapons leave different characteristic marks, or “signatures”, on different materials. The ASFIC course allowed students to observe known weapons striking known targets in order to learn how to read the signatures.
On the final day students processed sites “blind”, or not knowing what happened. Here there is a crater with an overturned vehicle and signs of direct fire attacks. The crater is being measured for later analysis to determine what could be used to create the crater.
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