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EODMU-1 Deploys in Support of Joint, Combined Operations

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS081016-18

Release Date: 10/16/2008 6:10:00 AM

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW/AW) Brian Gaines, Fleet Public Affairs Center, Pacific

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- Members of Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 1 deployed Oct. 14 to the Middle East to provide command and control of EOD's efforts to counter-improvised explosive devices.

Navy EOD deployed platoons in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom since 2001 and has been deployed mobile units as command and control elements since 2006. This is the fifth Navy EOD battalion deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"Although security has vastly improved, IEDs [improvised explosive devices] are still a tangible threat in the Northern Iraq area of responsibility," said Cmdr. Eric Wirstrom, commanding officer, EODMU 1. "I am very confident in the abilities of the Sailors, Soldiers and Airmen deploying today."

EODMU 1's headquarters element will be based in Tikrit, Iraq, in direct support of the U.S Army's 25th Infantry Division. It will be provide command and control for 36 Army, Air Force and Navy EOD teams in area of operations in Northern Iraq.

"We are excited to deploy. Our job is to support the team on the ground in defeating the device and the network," said Lt. Cmdr. William Richardson, EODMU 1 executive officer. "We also want to bring our men and women home safely."

EODMU 1 technicians are deployed throughout U.S. Central Command and are regularly called upon to render safe conventional ordnance, IEDs, landmines and weapons of mass destruction. EOD technicians also conduct force protection diving operations and underwater countermeasures.

For families, deployment brings its share of anxieties and hope.

"I know he is fighting for our freedom and the freedom of the Iraqi people," said Denise Pinard, wife of Electronics Technician 1st Class (SW) Russell Pinard. "That's what keeps me going."

Pinard added that her husband will stay connected to his family through phone calls, e-mails and the United Through Reading program.

EODMU 1 is homeported at Naval Base Coronado and is part of the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command. U.S. Navy EOD is considered by some as the world's premier combat force for countering IEDs, weapons of mass destruction and other types of weaponry. Navy EOD technicians are often the "first in," enabling access for further combat operations in every environment, on the ground, in the air and under the sea.