Comments on: Everybody is E.O.D.

By: Marc Vecoli

Marc Vecoli — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 22:32:33 +0000

I became Navy EOD in 1969, yes before all the robots etc. It is unfortunate that we are short the trained personnel in combat areas. Even with an all vollunteer service there are not enough personnel having the physical and mental ability to get through EOD training. Without the draft there is no incentive for those above average personnel to enter the service. I know that about 90% of trained EOD are deployed overseas leaving the homeland somewhat unprotected. what is the answer I do not know. Thank God for the brave men entering EOD today.

By: EOD TL

EOD TL — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 20:53:27 +0000

Bottom line…if you need to clear a path to an objective and time is critical, engineers already on site are trained and equipped to approach in a heavily armored vehicle and drop a charge and then move on to the objective. They may still get blown up, but the armor and robots should minimize their casualties. If you want to defeat the enemy, EOD techs train 365 days a year at home and deployed to understand bombers, their TTPs and how to defeat/exploit their weapons. I wouldn’t ask a basic EOD to handle an IED after months of initial training. Why would I ask an Engineer with a few weeks of familiarization? As EOD I don’t pretend to know the intricacies of building bridges. Excel in what you’re trained for to best accomplish the mission. Keep your people alive by realizing the limits of your expertise.

By: gEnOD

gEnOD — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 10:56:16 +0000

There is not and has not been a shortage of EOD in OIF since 2006. The issue is training the force how to properly employ them. THe new EOD Modular Structure has not only been proven in Combat it has excelled. Now if we dont apply it to OEF soon we will see the same loss of life we saw in the first 3 years of OIF. Get a Clue OEF TF Troy worked use the model and stop trying to reinvent the wheel. And dont comment that its differant in OEF because of terrain and distance: thats Cra.….…..

By: phillip saunders

phillip saunders — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 00:04:55 +0000

i was standing about 15 feet away from this captain when the bomb went off. altho he did do alot of what was stated in this story, it isnt exactly true. my team rendered first aid to him. i walked him up to the crater where the first ied went off and took the lives of 4 of my comrades.
SSG Saunders
B Co 2/121 Inf

By: Skykrab

Skykrab — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 20:17:32 +0000

As a recently USN EOD (Ret)and as someone who was there in CEXC (03–04, 05) and knew Cap’n Pete. I can tell you that even EOD Techs are mortal (even really good ones). I think the real point is while actually placing a “drop charge” or other seemingly simple task to counter charge/disrupt/etc… is not rocket surgery, however the decisions that leads up to whatever TTP is performed is not done by rigid doctrine, or hap hazard decision…it is a result of the situation. A lot of these situations involve showing up on site only to be informed the scenario is 180 out, and your being sniped or rocketed while you recalibrate your initial plan and execute in about 30 sec. Would you use the same TTP’s in the US or some other AOR. Not if your EOD. Anyone can blow stuff up…try preventing something from blowing up that was designed specifically to do just that… Protection of PERSONEL and Property is the mission! Yes in that order. We all have our own jobs/responsibilities and they are all important and we are all special. I won’t do yours, don’t do mine. My $.02 Peace!

By: selahattin

selahattin — Tue, 13 May 2008 18:51:03 +0000

hello

By: Les

Les — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 06:11:30 +0000

Hey they can do anything they want.… once.

By: Smith

Smith — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 19:21:03 +0000

I was the medic assigned to the Platoon that was involved in the incident that CPT Norton was sent to investigate. The award and the citation directly reflect his heroic actions on that unforgetable day.

By: Crab

Crab — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 18:02:02 +0000

Swimmer, the article says there is a critical shortage of EOD technicians. What would be accomplished by having EOD ride out with regular patrols? While roadside bombs and ordnance finds aren’t rare, that doesn’t mean that every patrol finds some. Quite the contrary; only a tiny fraction of patrols find anything that would call for an EOD team. Having an EOD team with every patrol might feel like a great idea to you, but it would mean that the rest of the area has one less team to respond to areas where IEDs have been found. Put another team or two out with another patrol, and you may be completely denying EOD support to the rest of your area. I don’t know how many EOD teams there are in Iraq, but I’ll bet there are a lot more patrols out on a daily basis.
Your suggestion that EOD technicians grab their gear and roll out reflects frustration and impatience. Your enemy wants you to get frustrated, because when you start letting your impatience drive your decisions, you’re going to make mistakes that your enemy can exploit.
You suggest that your leadership is ordering people to play at being EOD. I advise you to do some homework and find out what the standing orders of your higher units are when it comes to suspicious items, roadside bombs, and ordnance. If your captain, LT, or sergeant orders you to do something that is against the standing orders of your battalion, brigade, division, or corps, that is an unlawful order.
We all want everyone to come home alive. If you’re frustrated with the EOD support you get, you can always try talking to them. If you understand how EOD response works, you might be able to find ways to speed things up from your end.

By: Rick

Rick — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 22:24:11 +0000

When I got my crab in 1967 things were a lot different than today but it still took someone with special qualities to get through EOD training. I saw many good soilders with the academic ability to pass but lacked the nerves it took to do the actual job. The military can lower the standards to recruite but the standards for EOD personnel Will only go up with todays technology.
Usually you only get one mistake in this job. It’s complete success or absolute failure and you have to have a complete and absolute trust in your team mates and thats what it takes to be EOD.