KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - Special bomb trucks, bomb disposal robots, and other explosive ordnance disposal devices lined the 787th Ordnance Company, 3rd Ordn. Battalion's compound on Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, Sept. 11, 2014.
The 787th created two practice lanes to demonstrate their bomb disposal capabilities to a unit that has taken over a base defense mission on KAF and will likely utilize their EOD capabilities as needed. The 2nd Bn., 77th Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Inf. Division, recently shut down Forward Operating Base Walton and took over the base defense mission on KAF.
"The first lane was a basic bomb disposal robot driver's course, where the operators were asked to conduct simple tasks with remote control operations," said Sgt. 1st Class Lindsay Ruggieri, a Champaign, Ill., native who serves as a platoon sergeant for the 787th. "The second lane was a bomb suit familiarization and mobility lane, which demonstrated the physical limitations that the EOD tech's are under while in the suit."
By seeing and utilizing the 787th's EOD equipment, the 2-77 FA got to walk in an EOD tech's shoes for a moment and saw first hand exactly what goes into interrogating and disposing IEDs. Such information will serve the 2-77 FA when they call on the bomb experts to understand the delicate process of taking explosives off the battlefield.
"We wanted the 2-77 to come and see our procedures and how we mitigate hazards on the battlefield," said Capt. James Rowlands, a native of Old Forts, Pa., who serves as commander of the 787th. "It tremendously increases their efficiency by giving them an element of situational awareness of how long it can take to do things safely."
Ruggieri explained that the EOD training served another purpose other than just showing capabilities and limitations. She said that the 787th had just recently taken over base response missions for all of KAF, and this training was to also establish rapport and a good working relationship with their 2-77 FA partners.
The training was well received by the 2-77, and both parties were able to have some fun with the robots at the same time.
"It was great to get a good understanding of what they go through so that when we call on them to investigate an IED or a suspicious package, we understand the time it takes to go and do what they need to do," said Sgt. 1st Class Robert Atchison, a native of Gainesville, Fla., who serves as an operations sergeant with 2-77. "It was a good time. I got to test my skills, and robots are always fun."
As the EOD technicians ran the 2-77 FA personnel through the training lanes, the lines between work and fun seemed to merge into one. The EOD techs appeared to wear their knowledge on their sleeves, answering every question asked of them by 2-77 FA Soldiers with proficiency and pride in their contribution in saving lives.
"They (787th Soldiers) feel that their job is by far the best job in the Army, and they know it," Rowlands said. "The level of proficiency and ingenuity that my Soldiers have is nothing short of incredible. I love watching them go through their own internal thought processes and using their problem-solving skills to take hazardous explosives off the battlefield safely, so our guys don't get hurt."
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