If there's one thing that soldiers loathe it's an IED.

It stands for Improvised Explosive Device and they're everywhere.

A bulk of the Canadian casualties suffered in the Afghanistan war are from IED's.

Without revealing any military secrets, the Taliban (or Insurgents as the military likes to call them) have become extremely creative in fabricating these deadly devices.

It's common knowledge that they like to place them underneath culverts, meaning you hold your breath every time you cross one in a vehicle.

With that in mind, travelling in Afghanistan can be painfully slow in a military convoy.

Unless the road was swept by military engineers, each convoy must stop and physically inspect almost every culvert.

A 10 kilometre journey can sometimes take hours under the hot Afghanistan sun.

One of the Taliban's favourite means of making an IED is with plastic containers similar to a Gerry can at home. Add a little wiring and a detonator from an old Russian mine and you have the deadly combination.

Word is that Iran is training the insurgents on how to make IED's, but that's just a rumour.

I did a military exercise where I had to detect five IED's spread out over 50 metres. I only found two.

The threat of suicide bombers is also preoccupying.

During my travels with the Canadian troops, I couldn't help but cringe every time our armoured personnel carrier would drive by an Afghan vehicle.

Despite the constant fear, the soldiers will tell you that, "you get used to it after a while."