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EODMU-11 and IMF Recover World War II Type Munitions in Puget Sound

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS080116-12
Release Date: 1/16/2008 1:57:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (AW/NAC) Eric J. Rowley, Fleet Public Affairs Center, Det. Northwest

SILVERDALE, Wash. (NNS) -- Members of Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 11, Det. Bangor, and Intermediate Maintenance Facility's Navy Dive Locker recovered World War II type munitions out of Puget Sound at Port Madison near Agate Pass, Jan 3.

The munitions recovered included nearly a dozen 40mm projectiles and a five-inch practice round. All of them were found in an isolated area used for commercial geoduck harvesting, which is a type of large clam that lives in the waters of Pacific Northwest.

"We found all these items using circle searches and I don't think there is anything else out there, because our searches were right above and below where the munitions were found," said Lt. Marc Yoon, EODMU-11 officer in charge. "The bottom was mostly hard packed sand and pretty flat. The munitions were corroded and sitting right on the surface of the sand. Based on the condition of the munitions they have had to have been down there for a while."

Yoon also said Naval Facilities Engineering Command is doing a historical investigation to find out why these munitions were in that area.

Initially, the munitions were found by the geoduck farmers and were reported to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in July. DNR then contacted EODMU-11 in November to relocate and clean up the ordnance in a safe manner.

"If there is ordnance out there, we need to find out if this happens to be a bunch of rounds which happen to be here or if this was a dumping ground for munitions in the past," said Yoon.

EODMU-11 did several days of diving in about 60 feet of water to locate and clean up the munitions, which started in early December.

"We searched hundreds of thousands of square feet looking for the munitions," said Chief Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician (EWS) Keia Patti, EODMU-11 diver. "I was happy when we first started to see them because I knew the situation was going to be resolved. The munitions we did find were made for training purposes."

Once the munitions were found, they were carefully brought to the water surface and transported to an explosives disposal range on Naval Base Kitsap, Bangor to be disposed of safely.

"We take these things to heart, because we feel we really need to get out there and get rid of this stuff," said Patti. "We need to find it and make sure the people who work in that area feel safe and can go back to work in one piece."

U.S. Navy EOD is the world's premier combat force for countering Improvised Explosive Devices, Weapons of Mass Destruction, and all other types of weaponry. An elite team of warriors, Navy EOD technicians are the "first in" – enabling combat operations in every environment – on the ground, in the air and under the sea.

For more news from Naval Base Kitsap, visit www.navy.mil/local/kitsap/.