Photo By Lance Cpl. Piper Ballantine | Marine Corps Captain James Otto, the Quantico Explosive Ordnance Disposal officer,...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, V.A.- A father and son peer into a glass case filled with a variety of historic weapons. The father reads the description provided for one of the artifacts as his son looks at each with wonder. Marines with Explosive Ordnance Disposal aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico have a hand in preserving these weapons and artifacts for historical purposes.
Typically, the mission of Marine Corps EOD technicians is to locate, identify, and render various explosive hazards safe. In rare cases, the weapons are preserved and given to museums for display.
The Naval History and Heritage Command located within the Washington Navy Yard is responsible for the preservation, analysis, and the showcase of U.S. naval historical artifacts. According to Jenny Ashton, a museum specialist with Small Arms and Ordnance Command at NHHC, her facility often reaches out to the Marine Corps’ EOD units for inert weapons and ordnances.
“The Marine Corps disposes of whatever the issue is instead of disposing the entire thing,” Ashton described.
Every military service can inert explosive items. The Marine Corps is the only service, which has a formal school to learn how to exploit explosive ordnances and allows their smallest units to perform this capability.
“While we here at Quantico have done many items for museums, the real function of all this is beyond saving history,” said Capt. James Otto, EOD officer aboard MCB Quantico. “It is to exploit explosive ordnance to gather and then disseminate intelligence data to the forces on the ground and the higher headquarters,”
There is a firm set of procedures, which are read aloud prior to any step in the process, explained Otto. They must also wear the appropriate personal protective equipment, which can change throughout the operation.
“To inert ordnance is, for us, to practice our exportation skills - we take ordinances, devices, and fuses, and remove the explosive hazards so we can gather intelligence," explained Sgt. Wesley Buzzard, an EOD technician aboard MCB Quantico. "These weapons were meant to preserve history, so we render them safe to be transferred to a museum."
The Naval command received support from Quantico’s explosive ordinance Marines to inert a revolver from the USS Maine, a U.S. Navy Ship which sank in Havana Harbor in 1898, which contributed to the outbreak of the Spanish–American War. The revolver had been corroded from years of submersion, Ashton described.
Due to the corroded nature of older weapons and artifacts, EOD technicians must use their X-ray machine to examine fragile material in order to prevent further damage.
“We have to verify that it's [USS revolver] empty, and there are no rounds in it,” Ashton explained. “So we asked the Marines if they would be willing to use their X-ray to see if they could prove that it was indeed empty.”
The world of weaponry has continually evolved with the needs of the Marine Corps throughout history. EOD technicians have gained a variety of historical insight from this weaponry and will continue to provide new data to the Marine Corps for years to come.
“Every day you come into work, there are new challenges,” Buzzard explained. “There are always more skills to learn.”
Story by: Lance Cpl. AaRron Smith
| Date Taken: | 07.19.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 07.19.2019 13:52 |
| Story ID: | 332160 |
| Location: | QUANTICO, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 323 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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