JERICHO, Vt. – A U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal officer from an elite EOD company that combats Weapons of Mass Destruction was selected as the Distinguished Honor Graduate for the Basic Mountaineering Course.
Capt. Jason R. Walker, a platoon leader from the 21st Ordnance Company (EOD WMD), earned top honors for his performance during the course at the Army Mountain Warfare School on the Ethan Allen Firing Range in Jericho, Vermont, Feb. 3 - 16.
Staff Sgt. Nathan C. Peeples, who serves in the 21st EOD Company, also attended the course at the Army Mountain Warfare School, which provides tactical and technical training for mountain warfare and cold weather operations based on lessons learned by units currently engaged in mountain warfare.
As the U.S. Army continues to shift from decades of counterinsurgency operations to preparing to defeat near-peer adversaries in large-scale combat operations, American Soldiers are training to fight and win on any terrain.
“The purpose of the Basic Military Mountaineering course is to prepare Soldiers for sustained, effective combat operations in mountainous terrain,” said Walker. “The specific iteration of this training I attended was the winter course which added the extra challenges brought on by cold weather and difficult movements through snow, ice and avalanche hazards.”
Walker said U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force personnel from a wide variety of combat arms and combat support specialties participated in the course, including many members of the 10th Mountain Division and Vermont National Guard
The culminating event of the Basic Military Mountaineering Course was climbing up to Smugglers Notch, about 45 minutes from the school.
“We ascended nearly 1,000 feet up the side of the mountain, made our way through the trees on the ridgeline and ended with an icy 100-foot rappel down the side of the mountain,” said Walker. “This trek solidified the various mobility techniques we had learned throughout the previous 12 days of training and ensured that we could trust the equipment we had been provided to safely navigate such terrain.”
Walker said the Army Mountain Warfare School is a state-of-the-art facility with a knowledgeable and engaged training cadre.
“Soldiers and Airmen from all units benefited from the decades of experience that the cadre had in mountain operations and no question was ever left unanswered,” said Walker.
EOD techs from the elite 21st EOD Company train to reach WMD wherever they are located.
Each member of the 21st EOD Company is required to graduate from the Air Assault School on Fort Campbell, Kentucky. EOD technicians from the company even trained to climb and rappel on the Hoover Dam in Nevada, joining the approximately 150 people to have rappelled 700 feet down the dam face in its 93-year history.
Walker said EOD techs from the company previously attended the Basic Mountaineering Course occasionally to prepare for any environment, adding that the training is ideal for team leaders.
“We are integrating it into our training program for Soldiers that are in or may be moving into leadership positions within our teams,” said Walker. “The current trend is to send two to four technicians to the course every month with an emphasis placed on the winter course.”
“Given the company’s responsibility to be fully mission-capable and prepared to deploy on-order, world-wide, 24/7/365, we constantly seek out training opportunities that enhance our mobility and operational understanding of austere environments,” said Walker.
The 21st EOD Company is part of the 242nd EOD Battalion, 71st EOD Group and 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command, the U.S. military's premier CBRNE command. From 19 bases in 16 states, Soldiers and Army civilians from 20th CBRNE Command take on the world's most dangerous hazards in support of joint, interagency and multinational operations.
The 21st EOD Company has a formal assessment and selection process that consists of a challenging physical and psychological screening.
The company holds assessments at its headquarters on Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, and the Naval Explosive Ordnance Disposal School on Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. Interested EOD techs or EOD school students are highly encouraged to assess.
Walker said he joined the 21st EOD Company to challenge himself and serve with other dedicated EOD techs.
“I wanted to join the 21st because I wanted to be part of a team that would challenge me both physically and mentally,” he said. “I enjoy the science, engineering and history that surrounds this mission set. I constantly push myself and my team to be better and be ready to respond at a moment’s notice. In no other organization have I been surrounded by driven individuals who genuinely want to excel in their positions and leave the unit better than they found it.”
“I decided to become an EOD officer because I was fascinated by the mission set. I liked the idea of having a peacetime mission as well as working a highly technical, hands-on job that allows me to get out from behind a desk often,” said Walker. “EOD is the epicenter of science, technology and intelligence, which is precisely where I wanted to be.”
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