Checklist: blow up stuff, save lives

Published Jan. 30, 2014
By Pascual Flores
Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs

JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- An elite group of highly trained service members at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., start their day preparing and maintaining their equipment, for any alert call where the lives and property of others depend on their expertise.

The Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians from the 87th Civil Engineer Squadron began this challenging career attending the Naval School Explosive Ordnance Disposal, located at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

"The failure rate at the school is around 70 percent," said Airman 1st Class Austin Biskey, EOD apprentice, from Alexander, Minn., and EOD graduate of the class of November 2013.

Students volunteering to attend this grueling EOD course learn the principles behind recognizing, disarming and neutralizing explosive material while also receiving training preparing them to be morally, mentally and physically able to succeed across the full range of military operations.

"My recruiter described the EOD career field as 'It's a challenge, you'll be doing so many exciting things you'll never think of it as a job, but as a career,'" said Biskey.

Of the approximate 3,000 students who attend the EOD school annually, only about 700 graduate.

"I joined EOD because it seemed like the most interesting career," said Staff Sgt. Joseph Griffin, EOD Journeyman, from Old Lyme, Conn. "The EOD course ran for nine months and was conducted at Eglin AFB, Fla."

The EOD school at Eglin is a Navy-managed command jointly staffed by Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps personnel. Successful officer and enlisted graduates are awarded the joint-service EOD badge which dates back to 1942.

The United States had no formal bomb disposal training and had to rely on the British experience with German ordnance prior to World War ll. The U.S. Army and U.S. Navy had established their own bomb disposal schools before America's entry into World War ll.

"At the EOD school, I found out it is not about blowing things up, but, saving lives and property," said Griffin. "That is what motivated me to keep on going."

Griffin provided support in the disarming of improvised explosive devices and unexploded ordnance on bases and route clearance missions using either robots, ropes and pulley or C4 to detonate the explosive device while deployed to Southwest Asia.

"We respond to calls from dredging companies working on the outlying beaches or from local authorities that recover unexploded ordnance here at JB MDL and take it out to the ranges for detonation," said Griffin. "About a year ago, the local police turned-in more than 100 explosive items they collected from their residents for disposal."

In addition to rendering harmless IEDs and UXOs, EOD technicians are trained in lessening or totally removing hazards created by conventional military ordnance, criminal and terrorist homemade items. EOD technicians are also experts in chemical, biological, incendiary, radiological and nuclear materials and also provide support to VIPs and help civilian authorities with bomb problems.

Tech. Sgt. Travis Groeshel, 87th CES EOD, noncommissioned officer in-charge and craftsman technician, from Dover, N.J., was a staff sergeant in a communication section during Operation Iraq Freedom in 2004, before cross-training into the EOD career field four years later.

"The EOD guys showed me the type of work they do and I was hooked, I knew that was the type of work I wanted to do," said Groeschel. "What keeps me going on is pure job satisfaction, not many people are happy with their job. Doing what I do, knowing how it impacts the people I work with makes me happy to come to work every day."

For prospective applicants seeking the adventure and challenge in EOD, the task, conditions and responsibility associated in this career field are very tough and demanding. Applicants are instructed in the most current procedures for the location, identification, recovery, technical evaluation, and disposal of conventional surfaces and underwater ordnance, both foreign and domestic.

"This is a tough career field, not only in aptitude and ability, but in the way we treat each other, the way we train and we are very tough on ourselves and each other," said Groeschel. "Some people cannot handle it well and it puts a lot of pressure on one. Be very sure before you make the decision to join this career field."

Embedded for four months supporting a British military unit in Afghanistan, Groeschel recalled a particular mission, involving a fellow EOD team member.

"A team leader got hit standing next to a guy who stepped on an IED, fortunately, the team leader was not killed, just injured. I had to go and devise a way to get him out," said Groeschel. "It was very chaotic, nothing like I thought I would ever experience, but the training kicked in and I got the job done."

Shortly after returning home from his deployment, Groeschel learned that another team member at the same place on the same mission was killed.

"It's rough, any casualty in our career field takes a toll because we are so small in the EOD community," said Groeschel. "We are among the smallest career field that accounts for 25 percent of the Purple Hearts awarded and with the highest combat related casualty rate in the Air Force."

In addition to the stress and danger as a members of the EOD career field, JB MDL EOD technicians provide support throughout New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and District of Columbia, as well as, deployment overseas.

"When dealing with stress, we really make it a point to take care of each other, to recognize what is going on and to push each other to help," said Groeschel. "None of us look at it as a shameful thing to get help when we need it or talk to each other to find some kind of outlet."

The Explosive Ordnance Disposal Memorial Wall at Eglin currently displays 298 names of EOD warriors killed since WWII and each May, names of EOD warriors killed in action during the past year are added during a memorial service to the wall.

The EOD school at Eglin, AFB, consists of 143 academic training days for students from the Army, Air Force and Marine Corps, with the course broken down into 10 separate training divisions: CORE, demolition, tools and methods, biological and chemical, ground ordnance, air ordnance, improvised explosive devises, nuclear ordnance, weapons of mass destruction and underwater.

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87th CES EOD