Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Jackson Adkins | VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – A U.S. Navy explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) technician from...... read more read more
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VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The winners of the first Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) King Crab Competition are Lt. Mike O’Neil and Chief Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Troy Padmore, assigned to EOD Mobile Unit 2, making history as the first team to win the newly established competition hosted by Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group (EODGRU) 2.
The 2024 King Crab Competition consisted of 18 EOD technicians working in nine two-person teams. By the end of the four-day competition, competitors traveled roughly 45 miles on foot wearing around 60 pounds of gear while being tested on 24 tactical tasks, performing 3 major physical training events, and swimming over 2,000 meters.
Taking second place this year was the team from EOD Training Evaluation Unit 2, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician 1st Class Luke Ostrowski and Chief Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Connor MacGillivray.
Third place went to Chief Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Jake Ferguson and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician 2nd Class Kieran Murphy from EOD Mobile Unit 8 out of Rota, Spain.
The winning duo was named during an awards ceremony Aug. 16, 2024, at EODGRU 2’s annual family day event in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Capt. Karl Haywood, commander, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group (EODGRU) 2, spoke at the ceremony.
“Across this group of 18 [competitors], there have been a total of over 45 deployments to every theatre we operate in. Every single mission area that we do, these guys have been put to the test, and all of them excelled. Outstanding job,” said Haywood.
The competition's concept is not only to determine the best Navy EOD team, but to challenge and test the service members' knowledge, physical prowess, teamwork, and mental fortitude.
The nine Navy EOD teams took on a wide variety of physical, technical, and tactical scenarios during the competition, from responding to chemical ordnance, clearing improvised explosive devices, conducting live demolition, responding to a floating mine at sea, to completing an all-night, 7-mile land navigation challenge followed by a full day of mentally and physically taxing EOD drills.
“Every team here displayed the grit, determination, tenacity, strength, and EOD expertise. That’s why the event was so competitive,” said Haywood.
The final day of King Crab started with a 3-mile ruck run in full kit in the morning heat, with each EOD technician wearing roughly 60 lbs. of gear. Then, they completed a grueling manual beached mine scenario. Finally, they rucked to the EODGRU 2 headquarters, where they were met by family, friends, and unit members at EODGRU 2’s family day event. The final event scores were tallied, and the winning teams were announced.
The competition had 27 graded events. By the end, three teams were tied for first in point values. The tiebreaker came down to counting up which team had the most first place rankings in individual events. The level of fierce competition and the 3-way tie were demonstrative of the level of excellence across the ranks in the Navy EOD community.
A 200 lb. trophy was presented to the winners. Their names will be engraved on it, and it will be passed around to the winning unit year after year. The trophy has 90 blank placards surrounding it, waiting to be claimed by future King Crab champions.
The competition’s intent was to build ‘espirit de corps’ and healthy competition within the Navy EOD force.
EODGRU2 and seven subordinate commands contributed to the planning and execution of the event, which took place at 13 training sites in Virginia and North Carolina. 37 evaluators, most of them EOD technicians, as well as more than 80 support staff, assisted in the execution of the 4-day event.
In real world operations, Navy EOD teams are routinely tasked with some of the most dangerous and demanding missions, including the neutralization of explosive devices and chemical, biological, nuclear, and radiological materials, while operating in hostile environments.
Because of their thorough training, Navy EOD is fully capable of detecting, identifying, stabilizing, rendering safe, exploiting and disposing of a wide-range of weapons and explosives including conventional munitions, CBRN munitions, unexploded explosive ordnance, weapons of mass destruction (WMD), homemade explosives, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and nuclear weapons.
The tightknit community, teamwork, and comradery within the special operations community are a few of the traits that set Navy EOD apart.
“The traits that are unique to EOD operators are character, resilience, ability to complete the mission, critical thinking, and problem solving. If something is wrong, we get to work—we solve the problem, then talk about it later,” said retired Master Chief Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Tommy Rebis.
Rebis, who was the 26th ‘Master Blaster of the Navy’, continued, “We are enablers. What affects our platoons, affects the unit we are supporting. We are averse to failure.”
Mentorship within the Navy EOD community is a huge contributing factor to their success.
Master Chief Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Joe Maloney, assigned to EODGRU2, explained, “We teach the newer operators how to navigate their career path; we give them objective guidance and help them set goals they didn’t know were attainable. We help them divest themselves of bad habits so they can push the boundaries and limits of what they never knew they were capable of.”
The King Crab competition was designed to push the boundaries and limits of the EOD technicians and draw on their ability to persevere through adversity and lean into teamwork to solve complex problems. While simulated in this exercise, these skills are paramount to success when conducting real missions.
When asked how events like this build unity and comradery among the EOD force, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician 1st Class Jacob Dowden, a King Crab competitor, said, “At the end of day, it’s about your brothers to your left and your right.”
Besides being physically fit and confident in EOD knowledge, the winning team said their mindset during the competition helped them to excel.
“Doing tough things with friends makes good memories,” said O’Neil. “We both think this competition is a good idea. If you put some culture and some fun behind it, it creates a good atmosphere,” said O’Neil.
When asked if they plan to compete in the King Crab Competition again next year, Padmore and O’Neil said, “Yeah, absolutely. We have to defend [the title].”
EODGU 2’s Family Day was sponsored by Navy Special Operations Foundation and by Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Association.
EODGRU 2 operates as part of Navy Expeditionary Combat Command and provides skilled, capable, and combat-ready deployable Navy EOD and Navy Diver forces around the globe to support a range of operations.
Photo and video coverage from the competition are available to view and download on DVIDS at https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/EODG-2.
| Date Taken: | 08.16.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 08.16.2024 21:11 |
| Story ID: | 478892 |
| Location: | VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 317 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Navy EOD Operators Compete in Inaugural King Crab Competition, by LT Chelsea Cannaday, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD)
