Photo By Ed Drohan | U.S. Army Spc. Zachary Dechant, an explosive ordnance disposal technician with...... read more read more
BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan – It took about three hours to pile up more than 600 pounds of destructive devices in a remote part of a range outside Bagram Air Field. Small arms ammunition, rocket propelled grenades, mortar shells, rockets and other items designed to kill and maim were stacked up with demolition charges until it looked like the devil’s trash heap.
Then, in the blink of an eye and with an explosive roar, it was all gone.
An explosive ordnance disposal team from the U.S. Army’s 663rd Ordnance Company (EOD) deployed from Fort Carson, Colo., took out the trash with a controlled detonation Sept. 30. The munitions and weapons they destroyed were collected both on Bagram Air Field and in the area surrounding the base over the course of one month, and included land mines and other munitions left over from the base’s previous occupants.
Bagram was a major staging post for Soviet forces during their occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s, and their legacy includes mine fields still scattered around the installation. Many of the mines on the detonation pile were collected by the civilian mine action center, who disarm and collect those that can be moved safely so they can be destroyed later.
Other pieces or ordnance are found around the base as a result of poor controlled detonation techniques the Soviets used when they were pulling their forces out of Afghanistan, said EOD technician Sgt. 1st Class Andrew Olson.
“Instead of destroying the ordnance, it threw it all over the place,” Olson said. “We’re still finding it today.”
The pile also included ordnance collected through military operations in the area surrounding Bagram, items like rocket propelled grenades , recoilless rifle rounds, pistols and AK-47 rifles that otherwise could have been used by the enemies of Afghanistan against U.S., Coalition and Afghan forces.
All told, the items destroyed during the operation filled the storage areas of two EOD Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles and a trailer towed behind one of them. The operation also included an escort by the U.S. Air Force’s 455th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron Reapers, who provided security during the convoy to the range and a cordon to keep out both the curious and those who would do the team harm.
After finding a suitable site for the demolition, the team spent about three hours unloading and distributing the ordnance and weapons in three piles, taking care to ensure both safety for the team and that all of the ordnance would be completely destroyed. C4 demolition charges were piled in lines along the top of the piles, detonation cord was attached to the C4, and shock tube attached to the detonation cord. Shock tube is a non-electric explosive initiator in the form of small-diameter hollow plastic tubing used to transport an initiating signal to the det cord by means of a percussive wave traveling the length of the tube.
Once the team was moved to a safe distance, EOD technician Spc. Zachery Dechant, who planned and supervised the operation as part of his training, walked off 2,000 feet from the blast site, unspooling the shock tube as he went. Once inside the MRAP at a safe distance outside the fragmentation zone, it was time for the big boom.
“Fire in the hole, fire in the hole, fire in the hole,” EOD Technician Spc. Christopher McLaughlin announced over the radio. A few seconds later, a huge explosion rocked the vehicle and the devil’s trash heap was no more.
But the operation wasn’t over yet. The lead EOD vehicle raced to the crater left by explosion, trying to beat dozens of Afghans also running in that direction in an effort to collect scrap metal they can sell to help support themselves and their families.
It wasn’t that the team wanted to deny the locals any of the scrap metal. Instead, they were concerned that somebody might inadvertently pick up an item that hadn’t detonated properly and hurt themselves, Olson explained.
Fortunately the team only found two or three small items that had been scattered without detonating. They took those with them to save for the next controlled detonation, and left to return to Bagram Air Field as Afghans scoured the area, collecting the remains of the devil’s trash heap.
| Date Taken: | 09.30.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 10.01.2013 08:21 |
| Story ID: | 114530 |
| Location: | BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AF |
| Hometown: | FORT CARSON, CO, US |
| Web Views: | 555 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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