DAHLONEGA, Ga. – U.S. Army Airborne Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians paid tribute to the original airborne pioneers from the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment during a run up Currahee Mountain in Dahlonega, Georgia, June 5.
Soldiers from the 767th Ordnance Company (EOD) ran to the top of the 1,735-foot-high mountain and visited the original Airborne School Museum to honor the Airborne Soldiers who trained at Camp Toccoa, Georgia.
The U.S. Army trained the first paratroopers from airborne infantry regiments at Camp Toccoa in 1942. The Airborne Soldiers were forged during the “3 miles up and 3 miles down" run on nearby Currahee Mountain.
The airborne regiments that originally trained at Camp Toccoa participated in battles in every theater during World War II.
Sgt. 1st Class Jeffrey B. Lysen, the 1st platoon sergeant from the 767th EOD Company, said the 767th EOD Company was in Georgia to conduct land navigation and dismounted EOD training on mountainous terrain.
“We spent a week out in the mountains completing the 5th Ranger Training Battalion land navigation courses and navigating to EOD lanes we set up deep in the woods,” said Lysen.
“We made a training event that incorporated land navigation on mountainous terrain, fieldcraft skills and rope training for mountain operations,” said Lysen, a native of Springfield, Texas. “The run was a motivational event to commemorate the troopers that came before us and to finish at the museum to learn more about the Airborne Soldiers of World War II.”
The Fort Bragg, North Carolina-based 767th EOD Company “Chickenhawks” are part of the 192nd EOD Company, 52nd EOD Group and 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command, the U.S. military’s premier multifunctional and deployable CBRNE formation.
Soldiers and Army civilians from the 20th CBRNE Command deploy from 19 bases in 16 states to confront and defeat the world’s most dangerous hazards in support of joint, interagency and multinational operations.
Headquartered on Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, in Northeast Maryland’s science, technology and security corridor, the 20th CBRNE Command is home to the majority of the active-duty U.S. Army’s EOD technicians and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) specialists, as well as the 1st Global Field Medical Laboratory, CBRNE Analytical and Remediation Activity, Weapons of Mass Destruction Coordination Teams and Nuclear Disablement Teams.
EOD Soldiers from the 767th Ordnance Company (EOD) support the 82nd Airborne Division’s Immediate Response Force that stays ready to deploy anywhere in the world in 18 hours. The 767th EOD Company trains regularly to support both day and night airborne operations.
A former U.S. Marine Corps infantryman and EOD tech, Lysen has deployed to Afghanistan twice and served in the Indo-Pacific theater. He also served as a marksmanship instructor at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina.
After 12 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, Lysen became an Army EOD tech in 2022, and he has served with Special Forces troops.
After completing the Currahee Mountain run in 22:30, Lysen said the run was a reminder of the proud airborne legacy that Soldiers in the 767th EOD Company uphold every day.
“A bunch of Soldiers that stepped into the dark abyss, unsure of what would happen next, knowing the only people they can count on, are behind them, stepping off into the same empty, darkness,” said Lysen. “It is a history that only a few can be a part of and only a few have taken the leap.”
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