Photo By Spc. PS Bailey Whilden | New York Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class John Iseman (left) and Sgt. Jesus Calixto...... read more read more
Subscribe
FORT LIBERTY, North Carolina- Two New York Soldiers represented the Army National Guard at the All-Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team of the Year Competition April 21-26.
Sgt. 1st Class John Iseman and Sgt. Jesus Calixto, members of the 1108th Ordnance Company, part of the New York Army National Guard’s 501st Ordnance Battalion (EOD) competed in this year’s competition.
The two Soldiers spent four weeks getting ready to compete against the Army’s best EOD experts, explained Iseman, the company’s full-time readiness noncommissioned officer.
“An EOD technician is always training to stay proficient in our field, which can include training lanes at the unit or going to schools,” Iseman said.
“However, specifically for this competition, my team member came on orders for four weeks to train with me at our unit in Glenville, NY. The training included EOD training lanes, publication research, workouts, and rucks,” Iseman said.
The EOD Team of the Year Competition is a long-standing tradition that tests EOD personal on fitness, technical/tactical skills, and explosive hazard mitigation capabilities in a variety of complex scenarios against emerging techniques, tactics, and procedures, according to the competition program, according to the event organizers.
“The most difficult part of the competition was not getting enough sleep and being physically and mentally tired from multiple lanes a day, “Calixto said.
“We also had to load and unload all our gear and equipment every day,” he added. “The last day we also had night lanes followed by an 8-mile ruck after being up for 24 hours.”
Teams face a myriad of explosive hazards that represent the full range of EOD operations in support of large-scale combat operations and special operations.
Sgt. Calixto and I were representing the entire National Guard EOD community, Iseman explained.
The things that we learned at the competition will be passed on to the team that competes in next years’ event so National Guard EOD can continue to be represented at the national level and work with our Active-Duty brothers and sisters, he added.
Staff Sgt. Tyler Grieves and Sgt. Tristen Lindsey from Active Army’s 760th Ordnance Disposal Company (EOD), a part of the 52nd Ordnance Group won the competition.
The Fort Liberty, North Carolina- based 192nd EOD Battalion coordinated and planned the competition.
“It means a great deal to the 1108th, but also to the New York National Guard for Sgt. 1st Class Iseman and Sgt. Calixto to participate in the All-Army EOD Team of the Year Competition,” said Capt. Tyler Barnes, the commander of the 1108th.
There are 14 other EOD Companies in the National Guard across 11 states and 1 territory and this was the second year in a row that an EOD Team from the 1108th was selected to represent all National Guard EOD in the All-Army Competition,” Barnes explained.
“To be considered to have the top EOD Team across the entire National Guard is a testament towards all the hard work of all of the Soldiers in the 1108th during our training year,” he added.
Sgt. 1st Class Iseman and Sgt. Calixto were a newly formed team for this competition. They were able to have 20 training days together to prepare for the competition as a team, Iseman explained.
During the training process they were able to study and run training lanes with their sponsor, they were also able to complete a few rucks and continuously work out each day to prepare physically, the two men said.
“As I have never worked with Sgt. 1st Class Iseman before as his team member, I feel that adaptability is important. As the days went on our teamwork was smoother and I was able to anticipate what equipment or gear to prepare,” Calixto said.
The Army EOD teams completed a variety of scenarios, from completing live fire range, an all-night 12-mile ruck march, and responding to chemical ordnance and other explosive devices.
“I would not say I learned this at the competition however it was absolutely re-enforced. There is no substitute to training. There is no substitute to going out there and working together as team,” explained Iseman.
There is a massive amount of value that participating in the competition brings. Not just from the lessons learned but also from the relationships created during the event, Barnes said.
Between all of this, there is not only immediate value brought back but also future value from the relationships built, Barnes explained.
The EOD community is very small and success is greatly enhanced from the sharing of information, Barnes continued.
These new relationships will allow us to better remain up to date with future threats being employed across the world and how best to defeat them, he said.
| Date Taken: | 05.06.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 05.06.2024 14:59 |
| Story ID: | 470450 |
| Location: | FORT LIBERTY, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 57 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, New York Army National Guard Soldiers Compete at the All-Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team of the Year Competition, by PO1 Stephanie Butler, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
