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FLORENCE, Ariz. - Members of the 363rd Ordinance Company (EOD) team broke the quiet whisper of the Florence Training Center range as they conducted basic demolition training.
Groups of two to three soldiers set up bundles of explosives called shots. The more experienced team members walked newer members of the unit to set up shots and detonate the explosives.
For three members of the Explosive Ordinance Detachment team this training provided valuable experience for the Team of the Year Competition.
“We were the only National Guard team to compete last year and we were moving faster than the active duty EOD teams,” said Staff Sgt. Jason Hipp, platoon sergeant, 363rd EOD, this year’s team leader for the Team of the Year Competition.
The team representing the 363rd last year placed second in the competition, said Hipp. Of the various EOD operations that teams are tested on, they placed first in the chemical and biological response task over a unit specially trained to handle those situations.
Weapons proficiency is another tested task that teams have to excel in. The weapons platforms include any and all weapons that may be organic to an EOD unit.
“We shoot everything from the 9 mil. Berretta pistol to a .50-caliber machine gun,” said Hipp. “It’s one of those areas we need to get better in.”
The accomplishments of last year’s team are not lost on Levine, platoon leader for the EOD team and team member of this year’s competition team.
“We plan on improving upon what we did last year, and we plan on winning it,” said Levine.
“Basic demolition is a building block on which the majority of explosive ordinance disposal comes from,” Levine said.
Levine said he sees these kinds of competitions as a way for the Arizona National Guard and his unit to earn a certain kind of recognition.
“Competition not only shows who is the best, but it gives us a competitive edge that makes you train harder so that you're putting the time and dedication in to what we are doing overseas,” said Levine.
Ordinance disposal is not the most difficult of tasks but it focuses on the details, said Sgt. Laura Crabtree, competition team member, 363rd EOD.
“It’s always good to go over small tasks because they are the ones you might forget in the competition and its fun,” said Crabtree. “The competition will provide more experience and will be great to take part in.”
| Date Taken: | 03.02.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 04.03.2013 13:09 |
| Story ID: | 104534 |
| Location: | FLORENCE, ARIZONA, US |
| Web Views: | 290 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 363rd EOD trains for competition, by SFC Adrian Borunda, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
