63rd Ordnance Battalion (EOD)
The 63d Ordnance Battalion (Explosive Ordnance Disposal or EOD) at Fort Dix was formed from what was an EOD Control Team in 1997. Today from its lair on Doughboy Loop, the 63rd controls 11 companies scattered across the Northeast.
Over 20 soldiers of the 744th Ordnance Company (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) of 63rd Ordnance Battalion, departed their Fort Meade home 30 September 2001, and eventually began clearing unexploded ordnance from the area surrounding Bagram Airfield. They were given 10 days notice for the assignment and weren't told when they would return. After three days working in an area across from the runway, the teams were finding rockets and fuses near the road. On the third day they went out to pick up the rockets. Staff Sgt. Matthew Hess lost his lower left leg, from mid-calf down, and sustained injuries to his left hand when he stepped on a land mine 18 December 2001, while removing unexploded ordnance around Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. He was evacuated to Uzbekistan, then Turkey and Landsthul, Germany, before arriving at Walter Reed Dec. 22.
