Shaw officials host safety day for EOD Airmen and families

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Daniel Phelps
  • 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. (AFNS) --  Officials from the 20th Civil Engineer Squadron here held an explosive ordnance disposal safety day Nov. 10 to help explain the challenges of EOD operations.

Organizers divided the day into two main sections, one intended for just the flight members and the other for their families.

"Our civil engineer EOD Airmen continue to conduct operations in a dynamic and ever-changing combat environment," said Lt. Gen. Loren Reno, the deputy chief of staff for logistics, installations and mission support. "The toll on the EOD career field has been significant. Since 2005, we have lost 13 EOD Airmen in combat operations. An additional eight have been seriously injured, losing a limb or more, and over 70 have received one or more Purple Hearts."

The organizers designed the event to help the EOD Airmen and their families recognize the different stresses the Airmen faced through deployment and reintegration as well as provide helpful solutions to deal with it.

Gena, the wife of an EOD noncommissioned officer who has been deployed since May spoke of the challenges faced by EOD Airmen and their families.

"The hardest part about his deployments is not while he's gone," Gena said. "While he's gone we manage to get by day-by-day. The difficult part is the reintegration. He comes back and is really quiet. He doesn't want to talk about the deployment. He tries get back into our routines and re-find his role in the family. It's hard."

During the day, information was given and crosstalks occurred to help the families realize the difficulties the Airmen faced while deployed and on the job.

"This really shed a lot of light," said Jennifer, the wife of another deployed Airman. "I wasn't aware of how much he had to deal with and think about."

Representatives from different help agencies on base explained the steps that they take to ensure them that these Airmen are a priority.

"A lot of times, it feels like we get lost in the shuffle when we return," said Tech. Sgt. Alejandro Rodriguez, and EOD technician with the 20th Civil Engineer Squadron. "This was really helpful to us."