Airmen partner with Soldiers to explode excess ordnance

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Mark Munsey
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) --  Anyone traversing the passenger terminal area at this forward-deployed location, regardless of length of stay, has a passing acquaintance with the amnesty box.

Its sole objective is to serve as a “get into country free” card. Airmen are briefed on exactly what items are forbidden: alcohol, pornography and ammunition.

When the time comes for emptying the amnesty box’s contents, explosive ordnance disposal technicians are called up to properly dispose of ammunition -- EOD style.

Servicemembers can pass through the terminal with extra ammunition, said Staff Sgt. Robert Mott, an EOD technician with the 379th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron.

Because there is no room on the base for an EOD disposal range, ammunition is collected and stored at the munitions storage area, he said.

“After a while, the pile starts to get pretty big,” Sergeant Mott said.

Adding to that collection is ammunition that has become unserviceable because of condition and age, he said. With all the hardware accumulating and no place on base to dispose it, the solution was obvious -- a one-way road trip for the bullets.

After extensive coordination with host-nation military police and Army officials, EOD experts found an artillery and gunnery range about 40 miles away.

A bit of a drive, but the rewards offset the distance, Sergeant Mott said.

“There was probably hundreds of square miles of open space where we could blow up as much as we wanted or had on hand,” he said.

Honoring the belief that EOD is one big family regardless of service, Sergeant Mott extended a disposal invitation that was quickly accepted by an Army EOD team at a nearby installation.

“They were more than happy to come out for a good range day of blowing stuff up,” Sergeant Mott said.

The ordnance was arranged for the highest possible explosive effect, ensuring there was explosive-to-explosive contact throughout the pile, he said. If not, unexploded ordnance could have been scattered all over the range.

“That equals a very long day,” Sergeant Mott said.

After a good range day, however, the EOD team got back to business as usual, said Master Sgt. Ken Douglas, 379th EOD flight chief.

“We’re Central Command’s focal point in redistributing tons of lifesaving equipment such as robots and bomb suits to the EOD teams in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Sergeant Douglas said.

EDO technicians here are doing what they can to support “our EOD teams downrange from all four services. They’re facing and defeating roadside improvised explosive devices on a daily basis -- saving lives often under sniper fire,” he said.