Photo By Staff Sgt. Cody Harding | A Kosovo Security Forces Explosive Ordnance Disposal team safely disposes of...... read more read more
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CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo – It could be a small piece of rusting metal, sticking up from the ground after a rainstorm or discovered by kicking over a rock while walking through a field.
Kosovo bears the marks of these rusted pieces of unexploded ordnance scattered throughout the country as a result of decades of conflict from as early as World War II.
Bombing campaigns, old military munitions and land mines, once dropped by the tonnage, are now turned to pieces of rust and buried, needing only the unsuspecting bystander or Mother Nature to unearth them again. Though old, they are no less destructive to their unsuspecting victims and property.
These explosives represent a significant threat, underlying the need for those trained in their identification, removal and disposal. For that task, the NATO-led Kosovo Forces turn to explosives ordnance disposal teams to help train, mentor and oversee the operation of the Kosovo Security Forces EOD.
The 62nd Ordnance Company, from Fort Carson, Colo., is the EOD team lead for Multinational Battle Group – East. They respond to any reports of UXOs found throughout the battle group’s area of operations.
According to U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Michael Whitney, an EOD team member for MNBG-E from Orange, Mass, their team receives anywhere from three to six calls on a weekly basis, with many of them being legitimate threats. Though the teams have only been in Kosovo for less than two months, they have already responded to more than 50 UXOs throughout Kosovo.
“They’re being found in the fields when people farm,” Whitney said. “They’re being found near houses, in the ground. Some people have had them in houses, or in the walls of old houses when people knock them down. They’ve been dug up around houses when they renovate. So they’re still out there.”
The EOD team has been working with their KSF counterparts to help safely dispose of these threats.
The KSF EOD teams are descended from the original mine-clearing teams of the Kosovo Protection Corps, which was reformed into the KSF. This means that they are skilled in dealing with mines, but find themselves less experienced with other UXOs and ordnance threats, which is where the KFOR EOD teams come in to help advise and assist the teams.
“It’s a good experience,” said U.S. Army Spc. Kyle Wainwright, an EOD team member with MNBG-E and Herriman, Utah native. “A lot of them [KSF] have been de-mining for 10 plus years, so they are fairly experienced. The reason we are with them is because they don’t have the formal training, but it’s been a really positive experience.”
Working alongside the KSF and the multinational partners from KFOR helps strengthen the bonds between the partner nations, Whitney said. There are several other EOD teams within KFOR who host UXO awareness classes for the multinational coys in Kosovo.
“We cannot describe the satisfaction of working with KFOR,” said KSF Sgt. Sami Kalludra, a team leader with the KSF EOD. “It’s not just my opinion, but the opinion of many other members of the KSF.”
The KSF are also learning how to operate new equipment as EOD technicians from KFOR improve on their own techniques. Learning to use these tools is a large part of the KSF’s ability to complete missions independently.
“Getting KSF EOD the proper tools and equipment they need is crucial to their ability to run incidences without U.S. aid,” said Wainwright. “So it will ensure maximum safety that can be observed and their overall mission effectiveness.”
“I’m proud of the fact that we have destroyed two UXOs today,” Kalludra said, remarking on a demolition event held July 18. “Because I know that the citizens of Kosovo are not endangered by these UXOs.”
| Date Taken: | 07.18.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 07.25.2013 07:02 |
| Story ID: | 110774 |
| Location: | ZZ |
| Hometown: | FORT CARSON, COLORADO, US |
| Hometown: | HERRIMAN, UTAH, US |
| Hometown: | ORANGE, MASSACHUSETTS, US |
| Web Views: | 493 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
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