EOD is not just IEDs

The Washington Army National Guard's 741st Ordnance Battalion (EOD) and 319th Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Company, based at Camp Murray, along with EOD technicians from Arizona, Nevada, and California, conducted annual training from June 10-24 at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. It was the location of choice because it's the headquarters of 303rd Ordnance Battalion (EOD), an active duty Army unit that commands the United States Army Pacific's (USARPAC) three EOD companies, one of which is based at Schofield Barracks.

The 303rd hosted the training to ensure that the National Guard soldiers received training that would not only increase the Guard's EOD readiness, but also enhance USARPAC's EOD capabilities in the Pacific Rim.

Lt. Col. Jonathan Steinbach, commander of the 741st, worked closely with the host battalion's operations officer, Maj. David Foster, to focus the annual training on team leader certifications for EOD technicians and developing his young battalion staff.

Foster said that aligning National Guard EOD teams with their active duty counterparts benefits both organizations.

"We can assist them with their training processes and procedures," Foster said, "while at the same time understanding the challenges facing National Guard EOD teams."

The 303rd's EOD companies are increasingly stretched thin after the battalion lost an EOD company last year, and given Washington state's partnership with the Kingdom of Thailand, Foster thinks the Washington Army National Guard EOD teams could be seen as a USARPAC asset.

After taking command of the 741st earlier this year, Steinbach made it his priority to create training opportunities that will increase the battalion's capacity to fulfill both its state and federal missions.

"This training with the 303rd is helping to create an EOD capability on the West Coast that is nested with USARPAC."

EOD is not just IEDs

A common misconception people have about EOD is that they exist to render improvise explosive devices (IEDs) safe. It's true that this has been a major focus in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, but the scope of EOD operations is far broader than that, which is why Foster's EOD teams are so busy throughout the Pacific.

EOD teams are responsible for clearing ranges of unexploded ordnance (UXO) and other hazards before soldiers are allowed to train. They can clear stuck rounds from weapons, tanks, or artillery pieces and any ordnance or explosive hazard from a military helicopter to a space shuttle. They work together with local, state, and federal agencies, doing anything from training local bomb squads to providing support for the Secret Service. EOD technicians are also well versed in nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) procedures in order to manage explosive hazards in a contaminated environment. During the extensive certification process to become a team leader, IED-related tasks account for less than 10 percent of procedures a technician is required to know.

Becoming an EOD team leader

An EOD team consists of two EOD technicians - a team leader and a team member. Building that team is extremely hard work. The nearly year-long initial entry training for an EOD technician has one of the highest failure rates in the Army. If a trainee passes, they are considered competent enough to be a team member. For a team member to become a team leader, they undergo even more extensive training at the unit level to complete a lengthy team leader certification process, a process that could take three years to complete. As a result, the tight-knit EOD community is marked by dedication, competence, camaraderie, and pride.

Render Safe Procedures

Many of the techniques and procedures EOD personnel use to render an explosive device safe is classified. However, EOD technicians prefer to use remote methods to investigate and mitigate threats. An EOD team will often send a robot equipped with cameras to the ordnance location to make a determination about the safest means to manage the problem. In some situations, the robots can be used to disable explosive devices. EOD technicians can also use advanced rope techniques to move explosive devices from a distance. For example, rope techniques can be used to create a mechanical advantage, allowing them to safely move ordnance weighing hundreds of pounds without placing themselves in close proximity to the threat.