Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Shannon Burns | Petty Officer 3rd Class Steve Sanford, assigned to Commander, Task Group 56.1,...... read more read more
Subscribe
U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Technicians, assigned to Commander, Task Group (CTG) 56.1, trained with Army EOD Specialists during a week-long training exercise in Kuwait at Camp Buehring, Oct. 23-31, 2016.
The training allowed EOD technicians the chance to get hands-on training and develop their skills with other U.S. forces while deployed to U.S. Fifth Fleet’s area of operations.
“Being able to train in the job field as EOD techs is one of the most important parts of learning and developing our skills,” said Chief Petty Officer John Hadrahan, Commander, Task Unit (CTU) 56.1.1 Leading Chief Petty Officer. “It allows us to develop and improve our techniques, tactics and procedures, so being able to come here to Kuwait was a great opportunity.”
According to Handrahan, training opportunities like this one are a vital part of being an EOD technician.
“When it comes to the EOD force being spread throughout the world, we need to be able to integrate because each service’s EOD experiences are different,” said Handrahan. “Some people experience improvised explosive device (IED) calls while some people experience unexploded ordnance (UXO) calls. To integrate and find out what the other services are seeing specifically helps the Navy develop our own procedures.”
The training included a variety of scenarios that an EOD technician might experience in real life scenarios.
“This week we did multiple training scenarios such as range clearance, UXO response, dismounted and mounted vehicle operations,” said Handrahan. “We also covered IEDs and EOD response as a whole.”
During the training, Navy EOD team members had the opportunity to take the role as team leaders during scenarios.
“There was a lot more application of things that we have been taught, so being put in a team leader role was a great learning experience and I had the opportunity to see how much my team leaders have to deal with,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Neil Bangs, assigned to CTU-56.1.1. “The greatest thing I learned is that you can’t just focus on one particular task, unlike when you’re a team member. As a team leader you have so much you have to keep in mind like security and medical, while at the same time thinking about the job and your team members.”
In addition to the training, Navy EOD Technicians also assisted Army EOD Specialists detonate more than 1,700 pounds of unserviceable ordnance; a preferred method of disposal due to the minimal environmental impact and complete destruction of hazardous components.
“In school, we saw bigger detonations but this was the first time I had the lead on the set up for a detonation,” said Bangs. “It was a great learning experience being able to take the lead.”
CTG-56.1 conducts mine countermeasures, explosive ordnance disposal, salvage diving, and force protection operations throughout the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations.
| Date Taken: | 10.31.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 11.09.2016 02:41 |
| Story ID: | 214210 |
| Location: | KW |
| Web Views: | 667 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Navy EOD Techs Conduct Training in Kuwait, by PO1 Shannon Burns, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
