Demolitions course teaches basics of blasts

Photo By Sgt. Cedric Haller | A demolition charge detonates during an explosive ordnance disposal course Feb. 27 in the Central Training Area. The demonstration gave Marines with Company B, Headquarters and Service Battalion, an opportunity to train outside of their primary military occupational specialty. Explosive charges can cut steel, demolish buildings and dispose of ordnance. Company B is with H&S Bn., Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler, Marine Corps Installations Pacific.  

CENTRAL TRAINING AREA, OKINAWA, JAPAN

02.27.2014

Story by Lance Cpl. Cedric Haller 

III Marine Expeditionary Force   

CENTRAL TRAINING AREA, Japan - “Fire in the hole! Fire in the hole! Fire in the hole!” is shouted, followed by loud blasts ringing through the air.

Marines with Company B, Headquarters and Service Battalion, were chosen to participate in an explosive ordnance disposal course Feb. 27 hosted by the Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler EOD unit in the Central Training Area.

Properly detonating ordnance is a dangerous and complicated task, which takes many careful, deliberate steps to ensure overall safety.

Preparing demolition charges begins with each participant carefully tying detonation cord around the charges, according to Sgt. Larry K. Hicks, an EOD technician with H&S Bn., MCB Camp Butler, Marine Corps Installations Pacific. The Marines link the charges together at a demolition site with more detonation cord to make a chain of charges. Blasting caps and a time fuse are attached to the cord, allowing for a long enough delay for Marines to move a safe distance from the resulting explosion.

Necessary precautions were taken to ensure the Marines’ safety was never in jeopardy during the course.

“We (stood) inside the bunker and listened to most of the explosions,” said Lance Cpl. Felix E. J. Cruz, a legal services specialist with MCIPAC Staff Judge Advocate. “(The course) was fun for me because this was my first time dealing with any kind of explosives. We did get to watch a few of the explosions.”

Explosives are often seen as a means to destroy structures, but they can also be used to accomplish numerous other tasks.

Explosive charges can be used to cut steel, dispose of ordnance, clear minefields or create a breach in defensive positions for assaulting troops, according to Staff Sgt. Edward C. Ludwig V, an EOD technician with the battalion.

“This demonstration was (designed) to give some Marines the chance to work with explosives and set off demolition charges,” said Ludwig.

This experience is a rare opportunity for Marines outside of an EOD military occupational specialty to handle and use explosives.

“A lot of the Marines that participated in this event (have never experienced this),” said Hicks. “This gives them a chance to see another aspect of the Marine Corps. Most of the Marines in (Company B) don’t even realize that there is an EOD section on Camp Foster.”

While the course provided Company B Marines with hands-on explosives training, it also resulted in an opportunity for the EOD Marines to continue perfecting their craft.

“EOD has many perishable skills,” said Ludwig. “If you don’t practice these skills for a long time, you lose them. This just gives us (EOD technicians) the chance to regularly practice them.”

Marines agreed that getting experience outside of their primary MOS fields provided a unique experience as well as an enjoyable opportunity they would not normally have, according Cruz.

“Actually getting some hands on experience and detonating the ordnance was fun,” added Cruz.

• Date Taken: 02.27.2014
• Date Posted: 03.12.2014 04:45
• Story ID: 121872
• Location: CENTRAL TRAINING AREA, OKINAWA, JP