Soldiers describe worst fears as roadside bombs  The Idaho
StatesmanMarch 1, 2006   — KIRKUK, Iraq — First they saw a
brilliant flash. A crushing explosion followed. Electrical
insulators on powerlines popped like starbursts, showering the
dirt road with sparks. Next came a rain of dirt, concrete,
shrapnel and other debris pelting their Humvee from the night
sky.  Staff Sgt. Steven Kingan and Cpl. David Gehrig had driven
into all patrolling soldiers' worst fear: an IED, the homemade
bombs known to soldiers in Iraq as "improvised explosive
devices."  Roadside bombs are among the favorite tactics of
insurgents and terrorists in Iraq, military officials say.
Insurgents rig mortars, artillery rounds or rockets with
detonators and explode them remotely with a garage-door opener,
cell phone or other electronic device.  The Feb. 14 explosion
earned the two Idaho soldiers the distinction of becoming the
first IED survivors from the 116th Brigade Combat Team's Bravo
Company. Neither man was injured, although their ear