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EOD eliminates threat, safeguards troops

Submitted by: I Marine Expeditionary Force

Story Identification Number: 2003127165317

Story by Sgt. Colin Wyers

CAMP COMMANDO, Kuwait (January 27, 2003) -- Their work sometimes resembles that of archeologists, carefully probing the ground for artifacts buried beneath the surface. But rather than finding bones or pottery fragments, they search for deadly reminders of past conflicts.

Explosive Ordnance Disposal personnel search for unexploded ordnance - anything from land mines to rounds left over from conflicts that may cause present danger to those in the area.

But even without specialized training, Marines and sailors can do several things to protect themselves and others against unexploded ordnance.

"Mark it with anything, get good grid coordinates if you can, and report it up your chain of command, but never touch it," said Army Staff Sgt. Michael Tilley, an Explosive Ordnance Disposal team leader with the 766th Ordnance Company, 33, from Kannapolis, N.C. "The further you can stay away from it and mark it, the better."

Years spent beneath the scorching sun and chilly night sky of the desert have rendered these mines more unstable and harder to detect, according to Master Sgt. Luis Torres, I Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) G-3 engineering chief, 41, from Moline, Ill. The danger posed by unexploded ordnance gives the phrase "always on the alert, observing everything that takes place within sight" a new meaning.

"Look for anything suspicious," said Torres. "Mines are generally round in shape. Also look for any loose wires or wires sticking up from the ground."

Service members are especially cautioned against keeping unexploded ordnance as mementos.

"Everybody loves souvenirs," said Tilley. "I know everybody wants to pick something up. But if it wasn't put there by the hand of God, don't touch it."

Doing the right thing around unexploded ordnance is the best way to avoid being harmed by it.

"Safety is paramount," said Torres. "You've got to treat these things with respect. If you're not trained, leave it to somebody who is trained."

Recently, EOD personnel have disposed of three pieces of unexploded ordnance near Camp Commando, Kuwait.

"We did a combined surface sweep of the area with Army EOD," said Torres. "We've also conducted classes. Education on what to do with unexploded munitions saves lives."

Beneath the sands of the Kuwaiti desert may be some of the ordnance left behind from the Gulf War.

"During Desert Shield and Desert Storm, the Iraqis placed a lot of land mines when they invaded Kuwait," said Staff Sgt. Steven Gervais, I Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), 34, from Tucson, Ariz., who was in Kuwait in 1991. "When they were retreating, they placed a lot of mines to try and stop us from moving forward. And we couldn't find them all, which is why there are still a lot of them in Kuwait."

Unexploded ordnance has claimed several lives during Operation Enduring Freedom - four soldiers and one sailor died because of unexploded ordnance found in Afghanistan.