Photo By Senior Airman Allison Martin | U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Dayson Moxness and Senior Airman Tyla Roland, explosive...... read more read more
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Munitions of Explosive Concern
Disarming bombs and transporting explosives is just part of the 36th Wing’s explosive ordnance disposal’s day to day job. As one could imagine this job can be dangerous and requires precision. Andersen’s EOD Airmen do just that by defusing the many unexploded ordnances left over from World War II on and off base.
During WWII, explosives called mechanical timepieces that had higher dud rates were commonly used. These are considered unexploded ordnances or UXOs. UXOs are found all over the world but are typically found left over in areas from a time of war or on firing/bombing ranges. The island of Guam had a large amount of these explosives dropped onto it during WWII.
“This island is littered with UXOs all over, so they do pose a pretty significant hazard,” said Senior Airman Dayson Moxness, explosive ordnance disposal team member with the 36th Civil Engineering Squadron. “Having not functioned, we assume them to be even less stable than a normal ordinance.”
Most people don't know what a UXO looks like. Because Guam has so many UXO’s in arbitrary places, most of them are found by civilians and locals. This can pose a threat or danger to whoever finds it and the area surrounding it. The 36 EOD team said some typical types of UXOs that are found have either a hung firing pin, meaning the firing pin is held back by fragile spring tension, or sometimes there are explosives with picric acid which is used in grenades and becomes less stable with time. The less stable the explosive is, the more dangerous it could be.
“We get a lot of calls from hikers and people out in the jungle, because these things, like I said are just everywhere, a lot of peoples first instinct is to take a closer look at it and pick it up, which is definitely not the right move,” said Moxness.
The 36 EOD team recommends if there is something you do not recognize, don't touch it. If you are off base and think what you have found is an UXO call 911, and if you are on base call Command Post.
The 36 CES has an EOD team on 24-hour standby in case someone on the island finds a UXO. Also, a primary task of theirs is to make sure before any construction can be done they have to clear the ground in the area to make sure there are no UXOs. Once an UXO is located, the EOD team makes sure all the equipment needed is loaded into the standby truck and gets to the scene quickly. Depending on where the UXO is located they might have to shut down roads, evacuate buildings, or clear people out of the area. If the ordnance is stable, they package it in a padded container and secure it in the truck for transport to the munitions storage area. If the ordnance is not stable they defuse it and then package it for transport. There are cases when ordinances have to be blown up in place or it gets transported to the MSA and scheduled to be safely disposed of by detonation at the range.
“Explosive ordnance disposal is critical to ensuring the safety of the military and civilian populace on guam.” said Capt. John Keisling, flight commander, Explosive Ordnance Disposal, 36th Civil Engineering Squadron. “It has been amazing to work with an incredibly professional team that is always excited to get the job done. When the team is not responding to UXO calls, we train and exercise for various explosive threats that could present themselves, and play a critical role with the Civil Engineer Squadron.”
Although the Island of Guam is riddled with leftover ordinances, Andersen’s well trained EOD members face the potential dangers of making sure they are stable and transported safely no matter the time or day with precision and team work.
| Date Taken: | 07.25.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 07.28.2022 19:18 |
| Story ID: | 425971 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 390 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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