EOD team clears the way for forward aviation operations base Unexploded ordnance litters the ground after decades of war in Southern Iraq
Marine Corps News
May 15, 2003
Story by Sgt. M. P. Shelato
MAG-16 forward deployed(May 15, 2003) -- Working in the scorching sun of Southern Iraq is not an easy assignment for the hundreds of Marines and Sailors tasked with building and maintaining the forward aviation operations base here. Along with the threat of a possible attack from enemy forces and extreme heat, they face the menace of the explosive remnants from decades of war lying hidden underfoot.
The Combined Explosives Ordnance Disposal Team from Marine Wing Support Group 37 and Marine Wing Support Squadron 373 has been working to clear the area of unexploded ordnance, or UXO, almost nonstop since arriving here in March.
The EOD team was put to work immediately after arriving at Jalibah. The five man team proceeded to clear more than one million square meters of flight deck in less than two hours, allowing 60 aircraft to land safely the first day the airfield was opened; just another day at the office, according to Warrant Officer Matthew D. Middleton, explosives ordnance disposal officer, MWSG-37.
"We're pretty thorough in our search," said Middleton. "We have to go in and clear the area to make sure it is a safe working environment for everyone here," he added.
Working primarily from a High Mobility Multi Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV), the team's mission at the base of clearing all working areas of UXO is dangerous but necessary, Middleton said.
"Any advice I'd ever heard was to stay away from areas that had this much unexploded ordnance - it's common sense," said Middleton.
The team had little technological support in their hunt for UXO, according to Middleton. Unlike larger ordnance disposal teams from other services, the MWSG-37 team didn't have access to ordnance handling robots or canine units.
"We would use metal detectors to search for objects beneath the ground, but there's too much ferrous metal in the area, making positive identification impossible," he said. "That just means we have to look twice as hard at the surface."
The results of the EOD team's hunt for ordnance tells the tale of thirty years of war and unrest at the remote airfield.
"We've found munitions of all types, from different conflicts and countries," Middleton explained, "Including the United Kingdom, (former) Soviet Union and the United States."
Following is a list of the most common UXO Middleton says the team has been finding here:
- Various sub-munitions, or "cluster bomblets" produced by the United Kingdom, the former Soviet Union and the U. S.
- 100mm tank projectile rounds
- 57mm rockets, similar to the U.S. "Sidewinder" missile
- 81mm and 105mm mortar rounds
- Grenades of various types and sizes
"We've cleared more than 5,000 pieces (of UXO) and we were not even trying to dispose of all of the ordnance here," said Middleton, a Missouri native.
Handling the UXO is, of course, extremely dangerous. Some of the ordnance has been lying on the surface of the desert for years and is extremely unstable.
Even the new dining facility at the camp, aptly named "Hell's Kitchen," was not free of UXO, according to Middleton.
"There was not one area here that we cleared that didn't have UXO, including the chow hall," Middleton said. "We found a 57mm rocket three feet under the surface of the dining area," he said.
According to Middleton, it would be extremely dangerous for an inexperienced Marine to try and handle UXO. Even worse are what the team calls "trophy hunters," or someone who would try to keep a piece of unexploded ordnance.
"(Trophy hunters) are a worst case scenario for us, because they bring the UXO right to us," Middleton said. "We'd prefer to dispose of the munitions where we find it, with as little handling as possible," he said.
"After we receive a call, normally we'll go out and take a look and decide on what kind of action to take depending on what we find," said Gunnery Sgt. Tony N. Aldredge, explosives ordnance technician, MWSG-37.
Aldredge, a Georgia native and EOD Marine for 11 years, said the work he has been doing with MWSG-37 is not much different from what he would normally be doing at his home station, Marine Corps Air Station New River.
"We'll be here as long as we've got work to do," said Aldredge. "I don't mind the job as long as I'm keeping busy."
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