EOD technicians return from deployment to Central Command area of operations

By Walter T. Ham IVJune 16, 2022

Rough Riders
Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians from the 752nd Ordnance Company (EOD) returned to Fort Hood, Texas, following a recent deployment in support of U.S. Army Special Forces detachments in the Central Command area of operations. The 752nd EOD Company is part of the 79th EOD Battalion, 71st EOD Group and 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command, the U.S. military’s premier deployable all hazards headquarters. (Photo Credit: Courtesy photo) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT HOOD, Texas – Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians returned to Fort Hood, Texas, following a recent deployment in support of U.S. Army Special Forces detachments in the Central Command area of operations.

The Fort Hood, Texas-based 752nd Ordnance Company (EOD) supported Special Operations Task Force-Levant with EOD technicians at outposts in Iraq and Syria.

The 752nd EOD Company is part of the 79th EOD Battalion, 71st EOD Group and 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command, the U.S. military’s premier deployable all hazards headquarters.

Headquartered on Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, the 20th CBRNE Command is home to 75 percent of the Active Duty U.S. Army’s 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 the world’s most dangerous hazards in support of joint, interagency and allied operations.

In addition to enabling conventional and Special Operations forces missions around the world, Fort Hood, Texas-based EOD companies respond when military munitions are discovered anywhere off-base in approximately 186 counties in the state of Texas.

The three separate EOD companies at Fort Hood cover Homeland Response duties on a rotational basis. The 752nd EOD Company is expected to assume the Homeland Response mission in January 2023.

Capt. Dwayne D. Talburt
Capt. Dwayne D. Talburt (right), the commander of the 752nd Ordnance Company (Explosive Ordnance Disposal), took command two months before the deployment. The 752nd EOD Company is part of the 79th EOD Battalion, 71st EOD Group and 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command, the U.S. military’s premier deployable all hazards headquarters. Courtesy photo. (Photo Credit: Courtesy photo) VIEW ORIGINAL

Capt. Dwayne D. Talburt, the commander of the 752nd EOD Company, took command two months before the deployment. He was just in time for the battalion validation exercise. Talburt said major improvements had been made in preparing EOD technicians to support Special Forces missions during pre-deployment training.

“As an EOD community, we have made strides in preparing our teams for the Special Operations Forces mission set and it was evident during the train up,” said Talburt. “The ability for the EOD teams to attend pre-mission training with their supported Special Operational Detachment-Alphas was greatly beneficial to the overall preparedness of the company. Furthermore, it allowed the EOD teams to establish relationships with their supported SFOD-As prior to arriving in country.”

While deployed from November 2021 to May 2022, Talburt said the tyranny of distance was the biggest obstacle the EOD company had to overcome.

Deployment
Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians from the 752nd Ordnance Company (EOD) returned to Fort Hood, Texas, following a recent deployment in support of U.S. Army Special Forces detachments in the Central Command area of operations. The 752nd EOD Company is part of the 79th EOD Battalion, 71st EOD Group and 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command, the U.S. military’s premier deployable all hazards headquarters. (Photo Credit: Courtesy photo) VIEW ORIGINAL

“The company was all geographically separated, which naturally poses limitations on communications and interactions,” said Talburt, a native of Sacramento, California. “To overcome that, my first sergeant and I conducted battlefield circulations to have face-to-face interaction with the teams and fully understand the challenges that they were facing at the ground level. I truly believe the circulations were beneficial to the company.”

As the son of an Army EOD technician, Talburt spent his childhood around the Army EOD community. He initially enlisted in 2014 and later commissioned in December of 2016 as an ordnance officer. Talburt has also deployed to Afghanistan.

“I grew up around the community and fell in love with the mission set,” said Talburt. “The tight bond and family community really spoke to me as well as the problem-solving nature of the job.”

Talburt said the best part of the U.S. Central Command deployment was spending time with his Soldiers outside the wire.

“My personal highlight was traveling to the outstations and hearing from the Advanced Operational Base and Special Forces Operational Detachment-Alphas about how much they appreciated their EOD teams and all the hard work they had accomplished,” said Talburt.