Reward of dangerous job is saving lives

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Will Ackerman
  • 447th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
SATHER AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) --  One might think explosive ordnance disposal troops are adrenalin junkies. But they are meticulous about their work and don’t take unnecessary risks. However, because they deal with explosives placed by the enemy, the risk is real.
 
“We all know the consequences,” said Tech. Sgt. William Sistler, a 447th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron EOD team chief. “But we don’t think about it.”

Since January, the EOD Airmen here responded more than 340 times in an area of responsibility covering 500 square miles. Even though they face the chance of injury or death every time they respond, their safety record demonstrates the focus they have when responding and the type of people in the career field.

“They are the kind of people who think on their feet,” said Senior Master Sgt. Dale Moser, 447th ECES EOD superintendent.

Until operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom, Air Force EOD’s primary mission was base support, which included disarming hung flares on aircraft or investigating suspect packages. But now they perform what used to be primarily an Army mission -- safing explosives on the battlefield.

The career field had not lost an Airman performing a safing procedure since Vietnam, Sergeant Moser said, until March 29. Tech. Sgt. Walter Moss, an EOD team chief here, died while trying to safe an explosive device near Baghdad.

“It makes you think, ‘It could happen to anyone,’” Sergeant Moser said. But “sometimes accidents happen.”

Although the team has taken the loss hard and took a few “mandatory” days off to deal with the emotional side of the incident and review their procedures, they know this is one of the dangers they face.

“There is not a whole lot we can change in the mission,” said Tech. Sgt. John Hill, an EOD team chief. “We looked at the scenario, and we doubt any of us would have done anything different.”

Another threat is incoming small arms or mortar rounds while they are trying to safe an explosive device. An equal danger is getting to the place where the device is located. Sometimes they pass four or five IEDs to get to their initial response location.

“Many of us consider getting to the IED a bigger threat than the IED itself,” said Senior Airman Amos Smith, an EOD technician. “We are pretty skilled in getting across bridges, where sometimes our vehicle is slightly wider than the bridge and the tires are hanging over the edge on both sides.”

The roads also become slick when it rains, occasionally causing vehicles to slide into one of the numerous canals.

Regardless of the threat, they try to mitigate the risks. They use high-tech robots with mounted cameras and mechanical arms to view and disarm explosives. But sometimes they still have to take the walk to safe an explosive device.

“People who have never taken that long and lonely walk down to safe an IED or a roadside bomb will never come to fathom how it feels,” Master Sgt. J.T. Thrower wrote in a message that was read at Sergeant Moss’ memorial service April 1.

Because they face these dangers each mission, the EOD Airmen trust each other.

“We put each other’s life on the line,” said Sergeant Sistler. “If our team leader says it’s good to go downrange, we have to trust that he or she is right.”

They also realize the value of their work.

“For every IED we take care of, one more won’t explode,” Sergeant Sistler said. “It won’t take out another civilian or coalition troop.”

If you ask EOD Airman to quantify why they put their lives in danger for people they don’t even know, the answer is simple.

“It’s just what we do,” Sergeant Sistler said.