Detonation equals savings

Photo By Sgt. Christopher Bigelow | Explosives ordnance technicians with the 788th Ordnance Company, Explosives Ordnance Disposal from Fort Campbell, Ky., Sgt. Bryan Hood from Niceville, Fla., and Spc. Jayson Oratch from Cumberland, Wis., set the final charges for a controlled detonation of ammunition and unexploded ordnance at a firing range outside of Camp Buehring, Kuwait, March 15, 2012. The 788th EOD Company is the single theater demilitarization activity for unserviceable ammunition and unexploded ordnance coming out of both Iraq and Afghanistan.  

CAMP BUEHRING, KUWAIT

03.15.2012

Story by Sgt. Christopher Bigelow 

364th Expeditionary Sustainment Command

CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait – “On three, everyone lift, ready..1..2..3,” said Spc. Thomas Bossoletti, an explosives ordnance technician from Oxnard, Calif., with the 788th Ordnance Company, Explosive Ordnance Disposal from Fort Campbell, Ky., with assistance from some members of the 113th Military Police Company, from Brandon, Miss., as they carefully heave over 200 meters of Mine Clearing Line Charge.

“We’re going to need to wrap all of these,” says Bossoletti as he and other EOD techs carefully wrap the MCLIC around thousands of pounds of what seems like new ammunition.

After determining the ordnance was sufficiently set for demolition, Bossoletti, the acting range safety escorted everyone back to the range entrance while other EOD techs rigged and fused the charges that would set off the controlled explosion from safe distance.

This is the routine up to four days a week for these soldiers, who are safely destroying excess ammunition and other ordnance to save money for the U.S. taxpayers.

“For every 2,000 pounds that we destroy, we save the government approximately 100,000 dollars,” said Staff Sgt. James Van Elsacker from Waubay, S.D., the acting non-commissioned officer in charge of the Camp Buehring EOD Team, with the 788th Ordnance Company, EOD.

“We are the single theater demilitarization facility for Code H ammunition coming out of both Iraq and Afghanistan,” Van Elsacker said.

Since arriving in Kuwait early in mid-September 2011, the 788th Ordnance Company, has saved an estimated 37 million dollars.

Ammunition can be labeled as ‘Code H’, or unserviceable, for one of many reasons. Ordnance has a shelf life and upon reaching its expiration date it becomes unserviceable. It also becomes unserviceable when it has been out of its package for too long or damaged in any way. Ammunition out of its packaging needs to be refitted in order to be reissued, which costs the government money. The lot size of ammunition can also determine whether or not the ammo is deemed Code H, and ready to be destroyed.

According to 1st Lt. Jacob Walsh from Bethlehem, Pa., the officer in charge of the 788th Ordnance Company, EOD, his units’ primary mission here is to dispose of Code H ammunition.

“A lot of the stuff that we get rid of we get rid of because it is more cost efficient for us to blow it up then for the Army to repackage it, ship it, track it and re-issue it to other units,” Walsh said.

The government saves money because, according to Walsh, once the ammo is destroyed it no longer needs to be tracked and it doesn’t need to be loaded onto a vessel or aircraft.

According to Walsh, when you ship ammunition the ammo has to be shipped in proper storage containers. The rounds also need to be properly stowed; some types of ammunition are not allowed to be shipped with other types of ammo or supplies. Because some types of ordnance cannot be shipped with certain other materials, more shipments need to be made.

“It can be a very expensive process to gather the proper packing materials, and that’s where the money savings comes into play,” Walsh said.

More shipments cost more money.

“The responsible drawdown of forces was by far the largest timeframe of work that we have had here,” said Van Elsacker.
The largest ammunition burn this crew has ever done that was done was around 1.5 million rounds of small arms ammunition valued at over $500,000 with an estimated savings of over $850,000.

“Sometimes it’s more cost effective to just destroy it then to track the lots for retrofit and reissue,” Van Elsacker said.

“We have saved the Army around 37 million dollars just in the ammunition that we have destroyed here so far,” Walsh said.

• Date Taken: 03.15.2012
• Date Posted: 04.06.2012 07:21
• Story ID: 86368
• Location: CAMP BUEHRING, KW