Airmen dispose of enemy ordnance

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Scott Elliott
  • Air Force Print News
KIRKUK AIR BASE, Iraq --  Crawling over more than a ton of explosives the way a child would go over a jungle gym requires a little something special, but it is just another day for explosive ordnance disposal airmen here.

The 506th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron’s EOD flight airmen have recovered and blown up about 1.5 million pounds of Iraqi ordnance in the past four months, said Tech. Sgt. Timothy Wilson, EOD team member. The unit regularly disposes of about 10,000 pounds twice a week, besides the unscheduled “shots” at remote areas off base.

Each disposal shot takes two days to prepare, said Tech Sgt. Richard Toporek, EOD team chief. Preparation includes coordinating with transportation officials to carry the ordnance to the range, soldiers for security and base firefighters.

Then, of course, there is the actual shot to prepare.

“Loading the holes in the most time-consuming,” Toporek said.

Airmen use forklifts to move massive boxes filled with mortars, rockets, antiaircraft artillery shells, grenades and other types of ordnance into predug holes where EOD troops await.

After positioning the boxes and, if available, 500-pound bombs, the pile is primed with PE-4A plastic explosives and about 24 land mines. When all is ready, the EOD team strings detonation cords tipped with detonation caps to vital spots in the pile. Then it is a matter of setting the timer and getting out of Dodge.

Most munitions, if handled properly, are fairly safe, said Staff Sgt. Doug Baker, EOD team member.

“For the most part, munitions aren’t all that sensitive -- it’s the fuses that are the most sensitive,” he said.

EOD airmen travel off base to collect unexploded munitions and improvised explosive devices at least twice each day, said Staff Sgt. Joshua LaRoe, EOD team member.

Soldiers are responsible for the majority of EOD action in most areas of responsibility, LaRoe said. But not here.

LaRoe said his unit is responsible for about 38,000 square miles, an area bordered by Tikrit to the south, Mozul to the north, and the Iranian border to the east.

“It’s an unprecedented amount of space for an Air Force EOD team to cover in an area of operations,” LaRoe said.

While other EOD teams continue to train and wait their turns to deploy, Kirkuk’s team works daily to validate that training.

“All the training we’ve done over the years is paying off flawlessly,” Wilson said. “We’ve had no injuries and not a minute of down time.”