Photo By Sgt. Erica Earl | Sgt. Jared Hopson of the 3rd Explosive Ordnance Disposal Battalion on Joint Base...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. -- At first, the call Staff Sgt. Ronnie Haddox of the 3rd Explosive Ordnance Disposal Battalion received from the McChord Airfield on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, seemed like a relatively simple situation. Construction crews found a 30-caliber ammunition round that was protruding from the ground.
“It’s common on military bases,” Haddox said. “If you dig a hole in the ground, you are likely to find an unexploded ordnance (UXO). It’s the nature of military bases.”
However, the response call to recover a small arms ammunition round quickly became more serious when Haddox discovered the tail boom for an M28A2 high explosive anti-tank rocket, commonly referred to as a super bazooka.
“I recognized it instantly, and suddenly there was a high risk to an active flight line,” Haddox said.
The rocket was oriented across the airfield toward a road with regular traffic flow and a barracks building occupied by Soldiers.
Haddox said as he examined the rocket, he noticed that its safety system had rusted away. The rocket had begun its arming process and was a high explosive risk. He found two other rockets still in shipping containers buried in close proximity.
Haddox worked with military police to quickly shut down flight operations on the airfield, close the adjacent road and evacuate the precariously located barracks building.
Rockets like the one Haddox was dealing with are sensitive and can be initiated by electrostatic discharge, so he determined the best course of action was to destroy it right there on the airfield.
As an EOD technician, Haddox is trained to respond to high risk situations such as this.
“I realize from an intellectual standpoint that it is dangerous, but the Army has spent a lot of resources and a lot of time training me how to deal with the hazards properly,” he said. “I’m always aware that there’s a danger involved, but it’s not something I focus on when I’m doing my job. I push that to the back of my mind and focus on what I need to do to make sure the item behaves the way I want it to and make sure it doesn’t prematurely detonate or launch or something undesirable happens.”
While not in a deployed environment, the 3rd EOD responds to calls like this to keep the installation safe for both the training of Soldiers and the daily lives of service members and Department of Defense civilians.
The 3rd EOD’s involvement in such protection is not just limited to the on-base community.
They get calls to cover high-profile events, such as the visit of a dignitary or elected official, sporting events or events where high volume crowds are expected and a threat may be possible.
During fiscal year 2019, the 3rd EOD received 32 on-post calls, from organizations like military police and range control, and 12 off-post calls from federal, state and local authorities.
Being an EOD Soldier takes quick thinking, creative solutions and technological savviness, Haddox said.
“It can’t be the standard ‘do exactly what they’re told’ type of Soldier,” Haddox said. “You need to be able to mitigate a problem in the best and least destructive way without damaging the area or risking life.”
In order to accomplish this, Soldiers must undergo a year-long training program that is designed to be a high stress, worst case scenario style of school in order to prepare for unpredictable, emergency situations.
During a training event at the 3rd EOD’s headquarters on JBLM, music blared as Soldiers ran through a test scenario, navigating tipped over and piled up objects that could be disguising UXOs or improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Fake limbs covered in simulated blood were scattered across the ground. Soldiers had to work quickly despite these distractions to complete the training lane objective.
Sgt. Jared Hopson of the 3rd EOD said his job is one he finds both exhilarating and rewarding. Hopson said he is proud to be in a unit that undertakes potentially dangerous tasks not only in a deployed environment, but stateside as well.
“I’m proud of the EOD community and to perform a hazardous job so other units and civilians can go about their daily lives completely uninterrupted and unaffected by what could be a dangerous situation,” Hopson said.
Hopson joined as an EOD technician straight out of high school. He has deployed to Afghanistan, but said it’s his work on the home front that has been some of the most memorable.
“There is a sense of fulfillment as well as a feeling of accomplishment when you do a stateside response,” he said.
Hopson and Spc. Jakob Patterson of the 3rd EOD said that it is not always disposing of UXOs or clearing a site for safety that give them satisfaction in their job. For both Soldiers, their most memorable day at work was speaking as guests at a Boy Scouts meeting.
Hopson and Patterson showed the young Cub Scouts a bomb suit, a robot used for dismantling ordnance and some of the tools they use in the field.
“The kids were so excited,” Hopson said. “We got to spend time with them and let them drive the robots around.”
The 3rd EOD places emphasis on interacting with other units in the JBLM community as well. In addition to responding to calls to ensure training areas are kept safe, they provide UXO and IED awareness and identification training for other units on base to keep them prepared for deployments and able to identify potential hazards on base.
Hopson and Patterson said that anyone who comes across something that is suspicious or that clearly isn’t a training aid should call law enforcement or emergency services. They said to never try to approach or move the suspicious objects or imitate an EOD technician, even if they have trained your unit.
Capt. Alex Olsen of the 3rd EOD said finding, assessing and disposing of a UXO can be an intricate and delicate task.
“It’s situation dependent,” Olsen said. “Some things need brute force to work on. Other things can be set off by casting a shadow.”
Hopson and Patterson said dismantling UXOs with robotics is ideal when available.
“We would rather lose a robot than lose a human being,” Patterson said. “We make several attempts to render devices safe with remote means before manually approaching them.”
Like many jobs in the Army, the task of an EOD technician takes a team.
The 3rd EOD works and communicates in two-man teams, with one Soldier getting closer and investigating the device or UXO while the other communicates and acts as a sounding board for dealing with the situation.
Patterson said that while there is little margin for error, he takes advantage of his unit’s training to keep improving on his job.
“Even if I did well on a training problem, I like to probe leadership to ask what they would do differently to make myself better,” Patterson said. “I try to get as much advice and tactics from others as possible, as well as opinions of how they would go about it.”
Haddox described techniques and thought processes as a “spy versus spy” situation.
“You have to try to put yourself in the bomber’s mindset,” Haddox said. “You have to think why they would put that there and how they might plan on using it. It gives ideas and insight on the situation.”
Whether it is an intentionally placed object or an older ordnance from an earlier era of the Army’s history that has accidentally been unearthed, Haddox said the job requires a combination of even temperament and swift thinking.
If you are interested in the EOD field, contact Sgt. 1st Class Aron Reyes or Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Watts of EOD recruiting at 253-966-3725.
| Date Taken: | 03.12.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 04.01.2020 13:57 |
| Story ID: | 366210 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 762 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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