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During all-Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team of the Year competition, the five top U.S. Army EOD teams took on 11 very challenging training lanes that included everything from a stress shoot and a downed Unmanned Aerial System to an unexploded bomb and a helicopter assault on a sensitive site. The 2022 competition was hosted on Fort Carson, Colorado, by the 71st Ordnance Group (EOD) and 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command, the U.S. military's premier all hazards formation.
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Staff Sgt. Mark S. Owens and Spc. Brady L. Dunn, from the 759th EOD Company, 3rd EOD Battalion, 71st EOD Group and 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command, earned first place in the all-Army EOD Team of the Year competition on Fort Carson, Colorado, May 15 – 19. The winning team earned Meritorious Service Medals, championship belts and a chance to skydive with the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team, among many other awards.
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Gerald "Jerry" D. Simon, a 99-year-old veteran who graduated from the Bomb Disposal course in 1944, served in the Pacific until 1946. Simon attended the all-Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team of the Year competition on Fort Carson, Colorado, May 19.
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Staff Sgt. Lesley S. Raynor from the Camp Humphreys, South Korea-based 718th Ordnance Company (EOD), prepares for the stress shoot during the all-Army EOD Team of the Year competition on Fort Carson, Colorado, May 16. The annual competition was hosted by 71st Ordnance Group (EOD) and 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command, U.S. military's premier all hazards formation.
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Five top U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal teams from the around world competed in the 2022 All-Army EOD Team of the Year competition on Fort Carson, Colorado, May 15 - 19. The winning team was Staff Sgt. Mark S. Owens and Spc. Brady L. Dunn from the 759th EOD Company, 3rd EOD Battalion, 71st EOD Group and 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command.
(Photo Credit: Courtesy photo)VIEW ORIGINAL
FORT CARSON, Colo. – Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians from the Fort Irwin, California-based 759th Ordnance Company (EOD) “Detonators” earned first place in the all-Army EOD Team of the Year competition on Fort Carson, Colorado, May 15 – 19.
The winning team, Staff Sgt. Mark S. Owens and Spc. Brady L. Dunn, represented the 759th EOD Company, 3rd EOD Battalion, 71st EOD Group and 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command in the all-Army competition.
Staff Sgt. Lesley S. Raynor and Spc. Shannon D. Russell from the Camp Humphreys, South Korea-based 718th Ordnance Company (EOD), 23rd Chemical Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade, Eighth Army, came in second place.
Staff Sgt. Billy McCoy and Sgt. Micah K. Miler from the 722nd Ordnance Company (EOD), 192nd Ordnance Battalion (EOD), 52nd EOD Group, took third place.
The other top EOD teams in the competition were Staff Sgt. Ronald N. Helsel and Staff Sgt. Isaac Bocanegra from the 9th CBRNE Company (Technical Escort), 110th Chemical Battalion (Technical Escort), 48th Chemical Company, and Staff Sgt. Sean J. Splittstoesser and Spc. Tyler L. Orvik from the Schofield Barracks, Hawaii-based 303rd EOD Battalion.
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Staff Sgt. Lesley S. Raynor and Spc. Shannon D. Russell check their notes during the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Team of the Year competition May 16, 2022, on Fort Carson, Colorado. Raynor and Russell represented the Camp Humphreys, South Korea-based 718th Ordnance Company (EOD) during the competition.
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by Pvt. Traquez Coe)VIEW ORIGINAL2 / 8Show Caption +Hide Caption –
Staff Sgt. Isaac Bocanegra and Staff Sgt. Ronald N. Helsel, team members from 110th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear Battalion (Technical Escort) representing 48th Chemical Brigade, speak to each other and devise a plan during the U.S. Explosive Ordinance Disposal Team of the Year competition, May 16, 2022, Fort Carson, Colorado. The Team of the Year competition tests each team's ability to perform EOD tasks in multiple incidents.
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army Photo by Pfc. Joshua Zayas)VIEW ORIGINAL3 / 8Show Caption +Hide Caption –
Staff Sgt. Mark S. Owens and Spc. Brady L. Dunn, Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians with 759th Ordnance Company, compete at the all-Army team of the year competition at Fort Carson, Colorado, May 17, 2022. This year, 71st Ordnance Group hosted the all-Army Team of the Year where teams 52nd Ordnance Group, 71st Ordnance Group, 48th Chemical Brigade, 303rd Ordnance Battalion, and 718th Ordnance Company, put their skills to the test to tasks in a physically and mentally demanding training environment.
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Apolonia Gasp)VIEW ORIGINAL4 / 8Show Caption +Hide Caption –
From the 110th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear Battalion (Technical Escort) representing 48th Chemical Brigade, Staff Sgt. Isaac Bocanegra helps Staff Sgt. Ronald N. Helsel to put on an Advanced Bomb Suit during the U.S. Explosive Ordinance Disposal Team of the Year competition, May 16, 2022, Fort Carson, Colorado. The Advanced Bomb Suit is a bomb suit designed to protect the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Soldiers from improvised explosive devices, including those related to fragmentation, blast overpressure, impact, heat and flame.
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Joshua Zayas)VIEW ORIGINAL5 / 8Show Caption +Hide Caption –
U.S. Army photo by Pvt. Traquez Coe participated in the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team of the Year competition May 16, 2022, at Fort Carson, Colorado. Splittstoesser is representing the 303rd Ordnance Company during the competition.
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Spc. Brady L. Dunn, an Explosive Ordnance Disposal technician with 759th Ordnance Company (EOD), provides security during the all-Army Team of the Year competition at Fort Carson, Colorado, May 16, 2022. This year, 71st Ordnance Group hosts the all-Army Team of the Year where teams 52nd Ordnance Group, 71st Ordnance Group, 48th Chemical Brigade, 303rd Ordnance Battalion, and 718th Ordnance Company, put their skills to the test to tasks in a physically and mentally demanding training environment.
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Apolonia Gaspar)VIEW ORIGINAL7 / 8Show Caption +Hide Caption –
Staff. Sgt. Lesley S. Raynor and Spc. Shannon D. Russell, Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians from the 718th Ordnance Company (EOD) call a nine-line during the U.S. Explosive Ordinance Disposal Team of the Year competition May 16, 2022, Fort Carson, Colorado. EOD Soldiers are responsible for the location, identification and disposal of hazardous unexploded conventional, chemical and biological ordnance as well as improvised explosives.
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Staff Sgt. Mark S. Owens and Spc. Brady L. Dunn, Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians with 759th Ordnance Company, compete at the all-Army Team of the Year competition at Fort Carson, Colorado, May 16, 2022. This year, 71st Ordnance Group hosted the all-Army Team of the Year where teams 52nd Ordnance Group, 71st Ordnance Group, 48th Chemical Brigade, 303rd Ordnance Battalion, and 718th Ordnance Company, put their skills to the test to tasks in a physically and mentally demanding training environment.
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Apolonia Gaspar)VIEW ORIGINAL
The winning team earned Meritorious Service Medals, championship belts and a chance to skydive with the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team, among many other awards. Owens and Dunn serve in the Fort Irwin, California-based EOD company where they routinely defeat explosives across a training area almost as large as the state of Rhode Island.
This year, the competition had a special meaning since the U.S. Army EOD profession is marking its 80th anniversary.
The first Bomb Squad personnel in the U.S. Army began training on Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, in April 1942. One of the original Army Bomb Disposal technicians who trained on Aberdeen Proving Ground was among the more than 30 distinguished visitors at the all-Army competition on May 19. Gerald "Jerry" D. Simon, a 99-year-old veteran who graduated from the Bomb Disposal course in 1944, served in the Pacific until 1946.
On hold since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the all-Army EOD competition returned this year, hosted by the 71st EOD Group and 20th CBRNE Command.
Headquartered on Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, the 20th CBRNE Command is home to 75 percent of Active Duty Army EOD technicians and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) specialists, as well as the 1st Area Medical Laboratory, CBRNE Analytical and Remediation Activity, five Weapons of Mass Destruction Coordination Teams and three Nuclear Disablement Teams.
Soldiers and civilians from 20th CBRNE Command deploy from 19 bases in 16 states to take on world’s most dangerous hazards in support of joint, interagency and allied operations.
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Staff Sgt. Mark S. Owens and Spc. Brady L. Dunn, Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians with 759th Ordnance Company, compete at the all-Army Team of the Year competition at Fort Carson, Colorado, May 17, 2022. This year, 71st Ordnance Group hosted the all-Army Team of the Year where teams 52nd Ordnance Group, 71st Ordnance Group, 48th Chemical Brigade, 303rd Ordnance Battalion, and 718th Ordnance Company, put their skills to the test to tasks in a physically and mentally demanding training environment.
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Apolonia Gaspar)VIEW ORIGINAL2 / 4Show Caption +Hide Caption –
Spc. Tyler Orvick fires as he participates in the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Team of the Year (ToY) competition May 16, 2022, on Fort Carson, Colorado. Orvick fires at targets during the competition to benefit his team in earning points to win the team of the year competition. (U.S. Army photo by Pvt. Traquez Coe)
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Spc. Shannon D. Russell, an Explosive Ordnance Disposal technician assigned to the Camp Humphreys, South Korea-based 718th Ordnance Battalion (EOD), performs reconnaissance using his binoculars during the 2022 All-Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team of the Year Competition, May 17, at Fort Carson, Colorado. Russell and his teammate, Staff Sgt. Lesley S. Raynor, from Team 5 finished second overall in the competition and were voted unanimously by the judges as the most motivated team.
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by Marshall R. Mason)VIEW ORIGINAL4 / 4Show Caption +Hide Caption –
Staff Sgt. Lesley S. Raynor, an Explosive Ordnance Disposal technician assigned to the Camp Humphreys, South Korea-based 718th Ordnance Battalion (EOD), dons her chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear personal protective equipment with assistance from her teammate during the 2022 All-Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team of the Year Competition, May 17, at Fort Carson, Colorado. Raynor and Spc. Shannon D. Russell from Team 5 finished second overall in the competition and were voted unanimously by the judges as the most motivated team.
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by Marshall R. Mason)VIEW ORIGINAL
EOD forces have rendered safe more than 100,000 improvised explosive devices in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2006 and have trained thousands of host nation forces.
During the three-day competition, the five Army EOD teams took on 11 very challenging training lanes that included everything from a stress shoot and a downed Unmanned Aerial System to an unexploded bomb and a helicopter assault on a sensitive site. The teams were tested on their ability to enable lethality and safeguard U.S. forces around the world and to support domestic response missions across the nation.
Maj. Gen. Antonio V. Munera, the commanding general of 20th CBRNE Command, thanked the 71st EOD Group for hosting the competition and giving the top U.S. Army EOD teams a chance to prove their mettle during challenging and realistic training scenarios.
“While the 71st EOD Group team earned bragging rights this year, the real winner of this competition was the Army. Through this tough training, our teams are more ready to conduct their high stakes missions, whenever and wherever they are needed,” said Munera, a native of Fairfax, Virginia. “This competition demonstrated what I already knew: we have some of the bravest, smartest and toughest Soldiers in our EOD ranks and they make us proud every day.”
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