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| Staff Sgt. Joseph Fletcher, explosive ordnance disposal technician, poses with the explosive device EOD found Jan. 12 in a barn in
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But, in this business, explosive ordnance technicians say they never assume, unless they are assuming “worst case scenario”. They never leave anything to chance. They respond to every call armed with state-of-the-art tools of the trade and countless hours of training under their belt - ready to eliminate the hazard.
The team responded to a call from the Peach County Sheriff’s Department, Jan. 12. Before they entered the old shop, Master Sgt. John Bell and Staff Sgt. Joseph Fletcher climbed into their 75-pound explosion protection suits and forced on the helmets.
As they inched their way into the shop, the air was thick with fumes from degreasers, lubricants and old weathered wood. By the fading light of late afternoon, amongst the forgotten engine parts, rusty tools and oil stained floors, they found two high-explosive anti-tank projectiles just inside the door. One was propped against the wall on the right. The other lay on the ground beneath it. Both were covered with a thick layer of dust and cob webs.
The EOD team’s mission - maneuver the remote x-ray machine to take real-time pictures and check the ordnance for live components.
This time, they were fortunate. A remnant of the 1970s placed in the barn by a now deceased, former employee of the San Diego Munitions Depot, the 106 millimeter projectiles contained no live components.
“The man used to work in the depot and somehow he managed to get a hold of the HEAT rounds and kept them as souvenirs,”
This type of call isn’t unusual for EOD technicians from the 116th Civil Engineer Squadron who responded to about 26 calls last year – some of which were from civil authorities concerning citizens who just happened upon some vintage munitions lying around their property.
This is not a job for everyone. The extra $150 each month would be of little consolation to the majority of airmen.
However, contrary to what some people might believe, the Air Force’s nearly 1,000 EOD troops are more than just thrill-seekers who like blowing stuff up. The Air Force only accepts volunteers and conducts extensive background checks, as well as physical and psychological exams on everyone who applies. Many applicants are rejected because they’re not suited for the job.
Sometimes, suspicious packages and munitions like the one found in Byron turn out to be false alarms. Other times, things are more volatile.
For example, last year, as they were wrapping up a response to a suspicious package on base, the EOD team got a call to support local authorities with a suspect package at a video rental store on
“It turned out to be an actual improvised incendiary device that was designed to burn down the building,” Fletcher explained.
They remotely rendered it safe with a percussion actuated neutralizer, or water cannon. “We try not to go hands on,” Fletcher said. “We only do that as a last resort. We have certain tools we use and procedures we follow to do everything as remotely as possible.”
The EOD team responds with about $500,000 in equipment designed to make their job as safe as possible,
“We still have to go down range sometimes to set up equipment depending on what we’re trying to x-ray,” he said. “If it’s something we can’t move with the robot or if it’s going to be a tight fit to get the x-ray equipment behind it and get an image on film, then we have to go down range.”
That’s why he said they have the bomb suits, flack vests and helmets. “The bomb suit provides minimal protection from explosives point blank,” Fletcher explained. “It’s actually designed for protection on the way in and on the way out.”
Dressed in the Kevlar-like bomb suits that resemble something from a science fiction movie, and armed with state-of-the-art technology and nearly 4,000 technical orders that describe every conceivable manufactured explosive device and defusing instructions, this group of professional destroyers are trained to handle everything from match heads to atomic bombs.
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