Vancouver native deploys as EOD, defuses bombs, denies terrorist victory

Photo By Master Sgt. Sara Keller | U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Brian D. Wade, explosive ordnance disposal technician team leader with the 966th Air Expeditionary Squadron and Combined Joint Task Force Paladin, writes down information after so that he can send his two three-man teams to respond after a multiple rocket attack inside the wire at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, March 20, 2012. The EOD flight with the 966th AES is tasked to mitigate, render safe, and/or destroy any conventional or unconventional explosive threat as well as chemical, nuclear or biological hazards inside and outside the wire. Their operations can be performed 24-hours a day, seven days a week. Some of their responsibilities as EOD technicians include mitigating improvised explosive devices, post blast analysis and route clearing packages.  

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AFGHANISTAN

03.22.2012

Story by Staff Sgt. Sara Keller 

United States Air Forces Central     

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Senior Master Sgt. Brian D. Wade, explosive ordnance disposal technician and team operations non-commissioned officer in charge, recently deployed to the 966th Air Expeditionary Squadron at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, as a part of Combined Joint Task Force Paladin.

Wade, a Vancouver, Wash., native, joined a team of fellow EOD techs in Afghanistan from the 142nd Civil Engineer Squadron out of Portland Air National Guard Base in Oregon.

As an EOD tech, it’s his team’s responsibility to mitigate, render safe, and/or destroy any conventional or unconventional explosive threats as well as chemical, nuclear or biological hazards inside and outside the wire. Their operations can be performed 24-hours a day, seven days a week. Some of these tasks include mitigating improvised explosive devices, provide post blast analysis’ and perform route clearing packages.

By providing their EOD capabilities, Wade and his EOD team members make it possible for service members deployed to Bagram to complete their missions with confidence; knowing EOD is only one call away.

“We can’t do our job without EOD, there’s just no way,” said Tech Sgt. Eric Fox, team leader with the 455th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron Quick Reaction Team or Reapers. “For example; we called them out for a rocket we found, and it’s the same type of ordnance I’ve seen used in IEDs in the past. By them coming out and destroying it, that’s one less IED [the enemy] can use against BAF or us. Not to mention the multiple IEDs they can save our lives from by diffusing it, before the enemy can diffuse them on us.”

There is not a day that goes by where EOD is not called on to respond.

Wade said this makes him feel like he is contributing to Operation Enduring Freedom.

“We take a bad situation and make it safe,” he said. “Whether it is clearing an IED out of a roadway or examining scrap metal dug up during an excavation, the goal is the same. Leave it better than you found it and make it safe for the next guy.”

To be an EOD tech, Wade went through a rigorous nine-month course where he had to pass more than 50 tests that challenged not only his intelligence and attention to detail, but his physical endurance and mental capacity.

“At a minimum, I would say it takes three years to five years from the time a person graduates from tech school for an Airmen to become a fully trained technician,” Wade said. “The learning curve is steep and much of what we do is well beyond completing upgrade training and Career Field Education and Training requirements.”

There are countless situations where Wade has to rely on this extensive training and his ability to think on his feet in order to keep himself, his team and others safe. But he said he has his favorite parts of the job.

“My favorite part about being deployed is seeing the EOD teams from different backgrounds bond during pre-deployment training and work successfully together during real world missions,” Wade explained. “My favorite part about being EOD is the day to day challenges. There is always something different – it might not be new but it is always different.”

Wade served in the U.S. Army for six years and has been with the Oregon ANG for 13 years. When he is not working as a EOD tech for the Air Force he is a Deputy Sheriff for Clark County, Wash.

He said feels like the ANG EOD positions are extremely critical.

“We provide an immediate response capability for military ordnance found in the public,” Wade said. “Civilian law enforcement bomb squads are not trained to handle military munitions. Our EOD Flight has been fortunate to train with local and state law enforcement. The joint training strengthens our working relationship and inevitably makes the public safer.

The EOD career field is currently manned at 77 percent,” he continued. “As it stands now, many of our active duty EOD personnel have been deployed 5 to 7 times. It places enormous pressure on the service members and their families while diminishing the response capability of their shops.”

Wade has been serving in the U.S. Air Force for more 21 years and this is his second deployment.

• Date Taken: 03.22.2012
• Date Posted: 03.22.2012 13:20
• Story ID: 85612
• Location: BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AF