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JERICHO, Vt. – A U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal technician was recently selected as the honor graduate of the Basic Military Mountaineering Course at the Ethan Allen Training Site in Jericho, Vermont.
Spc. Calvin Battaglia, a U.S. Army EOD tech who serves with the 754th Ordnance Company (EOD), earned honor graduate by achieving the highest GPA out of the 50 servicemembers who attended the course at the Army Mountain Warfare School.
Army, Air Force and international students participated in the course where they learned the basics of mountain warfare and how to survive in the mountains. The course is designed to teach troops to battle the cold and conquer the mountains.
“I decided to participate in the course because the 754th EOD Company is located on Fort Drum and we support 10th Mountain Division,” said Battaglia. “The course has helped me to better serve as an EOD tech because of the skills it taught me in rigging ropes as well as making me a more proficient Soldier in the mountains.”
“The highlight of the course for me was definitely the high angle range because it taught us how to shoot accurately in the mountains,” said Battaglia.
The training was challenging and rewarding, said Battaglia.
“The biggest challenge for me was the knots test and to overcome it I studied each night for it,” said Battaglia. “Mountain warfare requires a lot of training to be proficient in and I would encourage the rest of my unit to attend the course.”
The 754th EOD Company “Yetis” are part of the 192nd EOD Battalion, 52nd EOD Group and 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command, the U.S. military’s premier multifunctional and deployable CBRNE formation.
Soldiers and Army civilians from the 20th CBRNE Command deploy from 19 bases in 16 states to confront and defeat the world’s most dangerous hazards in support of joint, interagency and multinational operations.
In addition to conducting lifesaving and mission-enabling military operations overseas, Army EOD techs from the 754th EOD Company respond to military munitions discovered on and off post in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
EOD technicians also participate in Very Important Persons Protection Support Activity missions (VIPPSA), alongside the U.S. Secret Service ensuring the safety of the president, vice president, their families and visiting foreign dignitaries.
A native of Carlsbad, California, Battaglia has been in the Army for about two and a half years.
Battaglia said serving on a VIPPSA mission in Angola with the Secret Service has been his most memorable EOD mission.
“I decided to join the Army as an EOD tech because I found everything about the career field interesting and because of the challenge that is EOD school,” said Battaglia. “My future plans are to continue my path in EOD and get my team leader certification.”
| Date Taken: | 03.27.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 03.27.2025 15:32 |
| Story ID: | 493928 |
| Location: | JERICHO, VERMONT, US |
| Hometown: | CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 92 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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