Sather EOD team destroys mega weapons cache

Photo By Master Sgt. Brian Davidson | Airman 1st Class Derrick Torba steps up to a joint explosive ordnance disposal rapid response vehicle or JERRV Dec. 17 at Sather Air Base, Iraq. Torba is assigned to the 447th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron Explosive Ordnance Disposal Flight, Alpha and deployed from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. He hails from Colorado Springs, Colo.  

SATHER AIR BASE, IRAQ

12.22.2008

Story by Master Sgt. Patricia Freeland 

U.S. Air Forces Central, Baghdad Media Outreach Team

SATHER AIR BASE, Iraq – He's only two months into his first deployment and things are already getting exciting for Airman 1st Class Derrick Torba. He's assigned to the 447th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron's Explosive Ordnance Disposal Flight attached to Multi-National Division – Baghdad. On a recent mission, Torba and his teammates helped destroy one of the larger enemy weapons caches to be collected at one time in the Iraq theater of operations.

"It was a six-day operation and we collected 13,000 pounds in explosive weight," said Torba. "My team destroyed 3,000 pounds of that cache. The other three teams destroyed the rest."

Torba, deployed from the 99th Civil Engineer Squadron at Nellis AFB, Nev., is part of one of four three-person EOD teams that had a direct hand in destroying the cache.

"The Iraqi army discovered it," said Torba. "There were two rival clans that were turning in each other's explosives and caches."

The Iraqi soldiers notified their American Army counterparts who contacted Sather's EOD flight.

"We don't get a lot of information about where this stuff is coming from," said team chief Tech. Sgt. Jeffrey Wasik, a reservist who hails from Glendale, Ariz.

"Usually when we get a call about a cache, the Iraqis have already moved it from its original location to their equivalent of a forward operating base or outpost. We'll go in and collect what we need and then transport it out to be disposed of," said Wasik.

The cache consisted of projectiles, rockets, homemade explosive propellant and various other items that could be used to make improvised explosive devices. After identifying each ordnance and ensuring the load was safe to transport, the team took the cache to a demolition site and destroyed it through controlled detonation.

Torba, a self-labeled "Air Force brat" who calls Colorado Springs, Colo., home, is an apprentice technician in five-level upgrade training. He's been in the Air Force for two years, and working in EOD for just one full year. Torba was partnered with Wasik and Staff Sgt. Michael Breive, a five-year veteran, deployed from Seymour-Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. Breive was impressed by the size of the cache.

"A 13-thousand pound cache doesn't come around often in this area," said Breive. "I've handled caches in the past that had high intelligence value but in terms of explosive weight and number of rounds this was the biggest."

Breive, a Palmyra, Pa., native, is on his third deployment to Baghdad and knows the area and the tactics well. His past experience gives his team a big advantage.

"I know the historical hot spots, how we did things in past operations and how we can apply it to what's being done now," said Breive. "I know the robotics platform being used here and it's one that's not used in the States so I can share that knowledge with them."

Things are drastically different from Breive's last trip to Iraq. The security situation in Iraq has improved so much that the operations tempo is noticeably slower. There are fewer incidents of indirect fire and more interaction with host nation counterparts.

"We used to get three to four calls a day now we're down to a few calls a week," said Breive. "We also work more closely with Iraqi forces now. They're integrated into the operation more and we step aside and let them handle things more often."

As first deployments go, this one has already been a valuable and memorable experience for Torba.

"It's been a very rewarding job so far," said Torba. "As far as that cache goes, it was all stuff they could use to make IEDs so us getting rid of it means they don't have the tools they need to use against us."

• Date Taken: 12.22.2008
• Date Posted: 12.22.2008 06:50
• Story ID: 27997
• Location: SATHER AIR BASE, IQ