Team in desert decides when bombs go ‘Boom!’

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Alexandra V. Stuart
  • 305th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
MCGUIRE AIR FORCE BASE, N.J. (AFPN) --  In a country still struggling to overcome the devastations of war and terror, U.S. servicemembers are helping rebuild Afghanistan's infrastructure and weed out the terrorist trail left behind.

Five explosive ordnance disposal flight people from here are taking part in this process at Khandahar Air Field.

The team deployed in early May to support Operation Enduring Freedom. The Airmen have found it to be a unique opportunity.

"It's been quite a ride so far," said Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Grisham, EOD chief of operations. "We've been doing everything from assisting infantry units on air-assault missions to blowing ordnance caches to humanitarian relief missions."

Sergeant Grisham said this is not a typical deployment to Southwest Asia for Airmen.

"We live in our protective flack vest and helmets, even sleeping in them," he said. "The threat of sudden attack is always present. Soldiers and Airman alike are constantly vigilant to the danger that surrounds them."

And the harsh climate does not help.

Sergeant Grisham said the sun is blistering and the wind is a hot torture. Many of the missions take place up on craggy peaks more than 10,000 feet above sea level. Typically, each person carries a 75-pound rucksack on the missions.

"It's a lot of hot, heavy work," he said.

Although it is exhausting work, he said the rewards are equally great.

Sergeant Grisham said his EOD crew is breaking new ground in the areas of joint-service integration, and they face new challenges every day.

The Army serves as the lead control group, flagging other units to support individual operations. Those units then provide direct support to Army units on the ground.

Army officials first collect intelligence by going into villages and working with local elders, war lords or other community members to find out where ordnance caches are, such as in caves or buried in the ground.

Then the Army dispatches EOD teams. Air Force and other EOD teams respond to the area where the ordnance is, assess it for things such as whether it is "booby-trapped," safe to move, and how to get rid of it. They then transport it to a desolate area and detonate the ordnance.

EOD teams can be dispatched for weeks at a time in the desert, usually by helicopter since they travel to areas that are more than 100 miles from Khandahar. These missions, called missions of opportunity, are quite frequent.

In Afghanistan, the teams are primarily finding weapons caches that the Taliban left behind. These include large quantities of projectiles and rockets, as opposed to improvised explosive devices -- homemade bombs that EOD teams are typically finding in Iraq right now, Sergeant Grisham said.

When they first arrived in country, the Air Force EOD team did not know what to expect.

"We were told little to nothing about our mission here before entering country," he said. "Once we got here we were told that we would be providing airfield support as well as assisting the Army on missions of opportunity and quick response missions."

Those duty descriptions have proven to be more colorful than they sound.

He described this deployment as being a wonderful opportunity, something that Air Force EOD workers do not normally get a chance to do, such as flights on Blackhawks and rucksack-marching for miles at a time -- the norm on these types of missions.

"I would say it is probably the most exciting and interesting work I've had the opportunity to do since I've been in," Sergeant Grisham said. "And more specifically, the most rewarding part is the humanitarian aspect."

He explained how the humanitarian missions are touching people on a deep level with an immediate impact.

"We are part of the team which distributes school supplies, food, as well as good will and hope to a people who were oppressed," the sergeant said.

"I think that the work we're doing here is important on many levels,” he said. “First, we have the rare opportunity to provide humanitarian relief to a people sorely in need. The living conditions of these people are crude by our standards -- no running water, plumbing or electricity. Technology of any sort is an exception. Additionally, we're providing security and peace of mind to the villages.”

Sergeant Grisham said the Afghans’ lives are getting better because of the humanitarian aid and because the Taliban are gone.

When the United States moves in, the Taliban move out, he said. Because of the U.S. show-of-force, the Taliban do not have that stranglehold over the people anymore. People do not have to rely on the Taliban for the basic necessities of life, and because the U.S. is destroying their arsenal, the military is severely hampering their ability to execute a war. (Courtesy of Air Mobility Command News Service)