EOD hosts JGSDF for study tour

Photo By Sgt. Nicholas Ranum | Chief Warrant Officer Timothy H. Buckles, the officer in charge of the 3rd Explosive Ordinance Disposal Company, III Marine Expeditionary Force, prepares to accept an award from members of the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force at building 5636 on Camp Foster Dec. 8. The award is Ryukyu glass and the golden kanji mean "continuous battle luck." The Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force 101st Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit and the 3rd EOD Company have been on a study tour of each other’s facilities to learn about their capabilities. The EOD units have recently diffused unexploded ordinance in Naha, Okinawa.  

IE SHIMA, OKINAWA, JAPAN

12.08.2011

Story by Pfc. Nicholas Ranum 

III Marine Expeditionary Force   

IE SHIMA, Japan - The 3rd Explosive Ordinance Disposal Company hosted the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force for a study tour at Building 5636 Dec. 8.

The study tour was held to provide both forces an opportunity to learn how the other operates.

“This event is turning into a yearly event,” said Sgt. Edward T. Garcia, an EOD technician with 3rd Marine EOD Company. “This is good for both the Marines and the JGSDF. It allows for the two groups to learn from each other and allows for interoperability.”

Members of the JGSDF, 101st EOD Unit, the largest of Japanese EOD units, were enthusiastic in their learning, said Garcia. They had the opportunity to learn about the tactical and technical side of Marine Corps EOD.

“Marine Corps EOD is entirely self-contained,” said Chief Warrant Officer Timothy H. Buckles, the officer in charge of the EOD detachment on Camp Foster. “They contain every department that a Marine Corps installation does.”

EOD displayed equipment and explosives that they might encounter in Afghanistan. The display included rifles, improvised explosive devices and a small bomb defusing robot.

“The rifles were the special application scoped rifles, the enhanced marksman rifle and the M4 carbine,” said Staff Sgt. Mike Engstrom, an EOD team leader with the EOD detachment at Camp Hansen. “Some of the components of the IED were actual parts of IEDs that we encountered during our tours.”

The Marine Corps is the only branch authorized to inert explosives and make them into show pieces.

The process involves removing all the explosive components and then reassembling the device and ensuring that it will not detonate while sitting on display, said Buckles.

At the end of the study tour, the JGSDF presented gifts of friendship and thanked the Marines of 3rd EOD Company. The gifts presented included Ryukyu glass and a friendship coin with the commanding officers' faces on each side.

• Date Taken: 12.08.2011
• Date Posted: 12.14.2011 19:02
• Story ID: 81378
• Location: IE SHIMA, OKINAWA, JP