CLARKSVILLE, Ky. – U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians honed their warrior skills during Mixed Martial Arts training near Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
Explosive Ordnance Disposal techs from the 717th Ordnance Company (EOD) recently conducted training that will help them to improve their hand-to-hand combat skills and ability to operate under pressure.
From the company, 28 Soldiers trained in hand-to-hand combat at the Modern Martial Arts and Family Fitness Center in Clarksville, Kentucky.
U.S. Army 1st Sgt. Garrett J. McGuire, the senior enlisted leader from the 717th EOD Company, said his Soldiers practiced Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Army Combatives techniques.
“They learned the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu positional hierarchy, including mount, side control, guard, and back control,” said McGuire. “We drilled for escaping back control and executing the rear naked choke, as well as how to escape the mount.”
McGuire has been studying Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for six months.
Capt. Joseph J. Carothers, the commander of the 717th EOD Company, is a Master Army Combatives Trainer.
As the U.S. Army’s explosive experts, EOD technicians take on everything from hand grenades to nuclear weapons.
The Fort Campbell, Kentucky-based 717th EOD Company “Jokers” are part of the 184th EOD Battalion, 52nd EOD Group and 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command, the U.S. military’s premier multifunctional CBRNE formation.
Headquartered on Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, the 20th CBRNE Command has deployable units stationed on 19 bases in 16 states, including 75 percent of the Active U.S. Army’s EOD and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) units, 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.
EOD technicians routinely conduct overseas and domestic explosive response missions. The Jokers returned from a deployment to support Operation Inherent Resolve in the Central Command areas of operations in April.
The 717th EOD Company also supports domestic response missions from the Canadian border in Wisconsin to the southern border of Tennessee.
A native of Hartland, Michigan, McGuire has deployed to Afghanistan and served in Jordan, Tajikistan and the Republic of Chad during his 13 years in the Army.
McGuire said his most memorable EOD mission was clearing the set of “Law and Order: SUV” during a VIP visit by then Vice President Joe Biden in 2016.
The first sergeant said the endurance and resilience gained from Mixed Martial Arts training readies his Soldiers for their rigors of high stakes missions around the world.
“In my humble opinion, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Combatives are great to prepare Soldiers for combat through building physical and mental resilience,” said McGuire. “I can’t think of anything other than long hours in the bomb suit that has tested my grit like having a full-grown person pin you to the mat and try to submit you. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Combatives are a fantastic test to determine if a service member is comfortable being uncomfortable.”
McGuire said EOD techs must be able to succeed under pressure every time they are called to confront and defeat explosives, adding that all warfighters should be able to fight and win in hand-to-hand combat.
“Learning to control yourself under immense pressure is key to mission success at every level,” said McGuire. “Understanding the fundamentals of how to grapple with a combatant will most assuredly save lives on any battlefield.”
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