DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. -- Security forces personnel manning a gate in Southeast Asia began to question the actions of a delivery driver -- he was a contractor whod been on base before but on that day, he seemed different -- almost nervous.
They made the decision to not chance it and called members of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Flight, deployed from here, to assess the situation.
Our job in a situation like that is to take care of the vehicle safely and in time, without losing credibility, said Master Sgt. Robert Hannan, 355th Civil Engineer Squadron EOD flight chief. We dont want to just go in and blow something up without knowing exactly what we are dealing with. We want to determine what the correct course of action is as quickly as possible so no one gets hurt. We have everything you can think of, from X-ray machines to detection devices, so we can be 98 percent sure what it is before we act.
In the case of the suspicious truck, the EOD team was able to discover a satellite targeting device. After the discovery, the decision was made to remotely open the remainder of the truck to ensure there were no hidden explosives. While the vehicle was destroyed, no lives were lost in the process.
This is just one of many stories members of the 355th CES EOD flight here love to tell. While they are a small flight with only 15 Airmen assigned, they have many missions and impact a wide variety of people on and off base.
In February, eight members of the team deployed to Iraq and conducted more than 450 EOD operations.
One of the main goals was to find large stockpiles of weapons and blow them up, said Staff Sgt. Clay Sigler, 355th CES EOD technician. The reason for this was to get the weapons out of the hands of terrorists.
The EOD members were able to destroy 16 separate munitions caches resulting in the destruction of almost 40,000 munitions and more than 55,000 pounds of explosives.
In addition, the team responded to 84 unexploded ordnance items and nine UXO incidents during attacks.
While the deployed members were busy providing a safer theater environment, the other half of the shop was left here to maintain a high level of operations.
According to their mission statement, on the home front, the 355th CES EOD provides a safe operating environment to allow the safe launch and recovery of aircraft. [They] protect D-M personnel and material from the effects of unexploded ordnance, terrorist devices and improvised explosive devices containing conventional explosive, nuclear, chemical and biological materials and weapons of mass destruction.
The team also lends its hand to help support agencies off base.
Southern Arizona was a bombing impact range during World War II, said Senior Airman Steven Hager, 355th CES EOD technician. As people start building further into the desert, they find military ordnance they need us to dispose of.
In addition, the team provides support to the Secret Service.
We provide support for the president, vice president, their families, all secretaries, foreign heads of state, presidential candidates, basically anyone the secret service offers protection to, Sergeant Hannan said. The threat assessment of any area is completed by the Secret Service. When they ask for our assistance, we go in and do a sweep of the area based on that threat assessment.
So far this fiscal year, the team has completed 59 missions for the Secret Service including both the Democratic and Republican national conventions.
But as their area of responsibility increases, including many high risk missions, EOD has managed to remain statistically one of the safest jobs in the Air Force with only 12 active duty deaths since its formation in 1947, according to Sergeant Hannan. This is in part due to an extensive training process.
The tech school is supposed to be 27 weeks but with all of the stuff there is to learn and with all of the tests, people usually plan on [more than that], said Airman 1st Class Travis Eygabroad, the newest member to 355th CES EOD flight. We had 16 hour days at tech school; now that I am here, I am going through upgrade training.
And EOD members know that part of their job is to constantly learn new ways of doing things. As technology changes, and as the enemy gets savvy with new advances, EOD has to do its part to try and stay one step ahead of the learning curve.
We have to learn how to think like a terrorist, Sergeant Hannan said. Before we know how to make a bomb safe, we have to know how to make the bomb.
This thirst for knowledge and the willingness to work hard to provide a safe environment is just a piece of what it takes to get into this career field.
In addition, the screening process is tremendous, Sergeant Hannan said. Explosive Ordnance Disposal is a volunteer job. You cant tell someone they are going to be in this career field. They have to want to be here.
And with the love of the job comes acceptance of the ins and outs of all it has to offer.
I guess you could say we dont have normal days, Sergeant Hannan said. Each day we come to work can be different from the one before.
With the variety, EOD technicians often find they are able to stay in the background of the base populace.
This is a job most people dont see or know about, Sergeant Sigler said. That is, until theres an emergency.
But when there is an emergency, they want people to know exactly what to do.
If someone finds a suspicious package, the main thing to remember is dont touch it, Airman Hager said. Call security forces personnel right away so they can call us to take care of it. Even if youre not sure, just call. Well go out all day on calls that turn out to be diaper bags for the one chance its a bomb.
USAF. (U.S. Air Force Graphic by Rosario "Charo" Gutierrez)