BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq -- On the quiet rides out to disarm an improvised explosive device, Staff Sgt. Stephen Dubois prays.
"It's not the kind of praying you would hear in church," said the sergeant from Woodbridge, N.J., and deployed from Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo.
The explosive ordnance disposal technician said it is part of "letting everything else go and letting it be about the mission."
The 332nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron Explosive Ordnance Disposal Fight's mission has the technicians in high gear. Averaging more than two responses per day, the EOD flight has disposed of roughly 10,000 explosive items since beginning their rotation in January.
Those items include more than 100 IEDs or caches (hidden stockpiles of weapons and explosives) found off base and more than 110 mortars and rockets "lobbed at the base," said Tech. Sgt. Jacob Smith, deployed from Beale AFB, Calif.
To do their job, they disarm the devices " what they call 'render safe" " and then dispose of them in a controlled detonation. This takes place either on scene or at the explosive disposal range here.
The technicians know these dangers won't disappear soon as they see an enemy who is adapting to the EOD technicians" techniques.
"We know they're crunching numbers, too," Sergeant Dubois said. "When they see they're not getting the return they expect on their attempts â?¦ they watch us (when we respond to an IED) to see how we work, then change the way they wire (devices)."
Senior Airman Scott Love, from Cameron, Mo., and on his first deployment, said he quickly shed the anxiety of responding to devices on and off base.
"For the first one, I was nervous," said Airman Love, who is deployed from Beale Air Force, Calif. It was a far cry from the pipe bombs put together by teenagers or explosive items found in meth labs back in California, he said, "but you get past the emotion, and it becomes a series of fluid movements."
While their unease is quickly tucked away, Senior Airman Kyle Churchill, also deployed from Beale AFB, Calif., says other emotions creep up on them.
"Coming from the states, we have the belief that people are actually decent; it's hard to register some of these people are trying to kill us," Airman Churchill said. "It could be an easy mind frame to slip into " to just hate everyone (outside the gate). But then we see these Iraqi kids giving us thumbs-up, smiling at us. You have to make yourself remember that a majority of these people aren't doing this."
"You can't get distracted by that emotion," Airman Love said, "because what we do means someone gets to go home. It's food or supplies that are getting through because we're out there."
During those silent runs outside the wire " as Sergeant Dubois and Airman Love find assurance in prayer and Airman Churchill finds his faith in knowing he's prepared " the technicians look for one thing.
"Closure," Airman Love said. "When we blow something up or we're on the ride back " that's closure."