104th EOD Airmen support FBI, State Police, Boston Marathon

Photo By Randall Burlingame | Staff Sgt. John Tourtellotte, the 104th Civil Engineering Squadron explosive ordnance disposal equipment NCO in charge, poses for a picture Feb. 16, 2018, at the 104th Fighter Wing in Westfield, Mass. Tourtellotte and the Airmen in the EOD shop train and work with agencies such as the FBI and Massachusetts State Police.  

WESTFIELD, MA, UNITED STATES

04.12.2018

Story by Airman 1st Class Randall Burlingame 

104th Fighter Wing

The 104th Fighter Wing explosive ordnance disposal Airmen have spent the last five years crafting partnerships with agencies such as Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Massachusetts State Police. These now thriving relationships have led to an increased amount of training and interagency responses.

The continuous training the 104th FW EOD personnel perform makes them a valuable asset in those interagency emergency responses and ensures they are always prepared to be critical contributors.

“Our product is really preparedness,” said Master Sgt. Jeremiah W. McClosky, the 104th Civil Engineering Squadron explosive ordnance disposal flight chief. “We can show that product when we respond in that one single moment of doing something, but it’s all that legwork that we put into preparing that leads to it. That’s really the product we have, our preparedness and all the training we do.”

According to Staff Sgt. John Tourtellotte, the 104th CE EOD equipment NCO in charge, the full-time members of the EOD shop are required to complete at least 20 hours of training per week on top of their monthly drill-training schedule.
The high volume of training is one of the main reasons agencies such as the FBI or Massachusetts State Police reach out to the 104th FW for help.

“This job isn’t one of those things where it seems like it gets stagnant,” said Tourtellotte. “We’re constantly learning. We’re constantly doing stuff. We get out, and we’re working with everybody. We’re always ready when they need our help.”

Both Tourtellotte and McClosky said interagency training and work has increased since 2013, stating that they now train with agencies such as the FBI."

“I think a lot of it reaches back to the initial Boston Marathon bombing,” said McClosky when referring to the reason for an increased amount of interagency training. “Everyone just kind of jumped in together and we didn’t really know or understand what everyone’s capabilities were, so we built those relationships on both sides to accomplish that.”

McClosky believes that the updated training methods allow the unit and other agencies respond as a unified team and said that the Airmen from the 104th had provided security and safety support to the Boston Marathon and other major planned events since the tragedy occurred.

In addition to working with other agencies, the Airmen are also working with other National Guard EOD units in field training exercises more frequently. The FTX training not only helps to maintain and build proficiency but it helps to grow confidence as well. According to Tourtellotte, both of those things ensure that EOD Airmen can perform their job successfully and safely.

“Everybody can share ideas and share training, and we’re getting everybody involved, even at the lowest level," said Tourtellotte. "Everybody has input and that helps the training grow with us.”

McClosky fully believes that the extensive training allows the Airmen to respond to any given situation, without a doubt.

• Date Taken: 04.12.2018
• Date Posted: 04.12.2018 07:58
• Story ID: 267740
• Location: WESTFIELD, MA, US