45th CES EOD team responds to their largest munitions disposal request to date

Photo By Senior Airman Dakota Raub | On Sept. 7, 2022, in Cocoa, Fla., the 45th Civil Engineer Squadron (CES) Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team responds to the largest Defense Support of Civil Authorities (DSCA) request they have ever received. The military munitions were safely stowed and transported to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla. to be stored in a munitions bunker until the materials required to perform a burn disposal could be acquired. (Courtesy Photo)  

PATRICK SPACE FORCE BASE, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES

09.16.2022

Courtesy Story

Space Launch Delta 45

PATRICK SPACE FORCE BASE, Fla. – On Sept. 7, 2022, the 45th Civil Engineer Squadron (CES) Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team responded to the largest Defense Support of Civil Authorities (DSCA) request they have ever received.

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Evan Weier, 45th CES EOD technician, and his team responded to a house that had been extinguished by the Cocoa Fire Department. The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) bomb squad identified hundreds of ammunition cans containing military and civilian munitions that needed to be safely transported and disposed of.

Weier liaised with eight local and federal agencies and briefed them on his plan of action. They recovered a mix of .50 caliber belt ammunition, 7.62x51 mm belt ammunition, and .30 caliber belt ammunition. The hundred or so ammunition cans and boxes contained 7,984 rounds, 16 new-in-box M18 smoke grenades, and two unidentifiable, inert rocket warheads, totaling 8,002 ordnance items for disposal. There were thousands of civilian small arms stored in the trailer as well, which the BCSO, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosive Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Office disposed of according to their publications.

The military munitions were safely stowed and transported to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla. to be stored in a munitions bunker until the materials required to perform a burn disposal could be acquired.

The following day, Weier and his team conducted an extremely thorough investigation of the rocket warheads. They were then packaged and the information was sent to the Navy Technical Division, who is responsible for updating all the EOD publications and technical orders. This process allows the sharing of information across all EOD technicians in the Department of Defense (DoD).

This response call is one of the 40-50 calls received by the 45th EOD team each year. The 125,000 square miles of Florida’s eastern coast that they are responsible for was used as a Naval training range for decades, which left behind untold numbers of unexploded ordnance that are uncovered by heavy rains or construction. Florida is also home to hundreds of thousands of veterans and retirees, many of whom own explosive war trophies.

The 45th EOD flight is the busiest EOD flight in the U.S. Space Force, and it also supports more Defense Support of Civil Authorities responses than most EOD flights in the U.S. Air Force.

• Date Taken: 09.16.2022
• Date Posted: 09.16.2022 17:27
• Story ID: 429529
• Location: PATRICK SPACE FORCE BASE, FLORIDA, US