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U.S. military members dispose of ordnance in a controlled detonation.
(Photo courtesy of Tech. Sgt. Michael Danylec)

THE CALM IN THE STORM

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THEYRE TRAINED TO HANDLE BOMBS AND SAVE COUNTLESS LIVES. BUT FOR THIS SPECIALIZED U.S. MILITARY UNIT, BEING NERVOUS AROUND EXPLOSIVES ISNT PART OF THE JOB.
By Leah Barkoukis
Inside the U.S. Air Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal truck at Andrews Air Force Base, all eyes are xated on a screen thats running a live feed from the robots camera outside. The spectacle is a mock improvised explosive device thats about to be disrupted an intentionally vague term meant to encapsulate classied information. Basically, through a controlled blast, the team is mitigating the hazard of the unexploded ordnancewhile attempting to retain as much evidence as possible. Tech. Sgt. Wayne Winder adjusts the controls for the robots camera to get a better view. On screen, everything appears to be ready; the IED is sandwiched between sandbagswhich are piled high in a triangular shape behind the deviceand four bottles of water bound together with electrical tape. With the help of a blasting cap, explosives and electrical wires, the water turns into a powerful tool to disrupt the IED. FIRE IN THE HOLE! FIRE IN THE HOLE! FIRE IN THE HOLE! an airman yells from outside the truck, warning that a detonation is imminent. A loud blast rings out through the air and, in an instant, all that remains on the screen is a cloud of smoke and dust, and a few measly sandbags that managed to remain intact. Mission accomplished. IEDs are a weapon of choice against U.S. troops and coalition forces in Afghanistan. AOL Defense reports IEDs have replaced artillery as the leading cause of death on the battleeld. The rudimentary device littered throughout Afghanistans landscape is hidden in places bound only by the imagination and accounts for 60 percent of the casualties U.S. and coalition forces sustained in the country, according to gures AOL Defense obtained from an Atlantic Council brieng with Lt. Gen. Michael D. Barbero, head of the Joint IED Defeat Organization. While the U.S. military has a host of

interconnected methods to accomplish the Herculean task of defeating the IED and its network, one group in particular is charged with tackling the threat head-on: Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians, the exclusive community in branches across the U.S. military trained to handle leftover Civil War-era ordnance, weapons of mass destruction and everything in between. Evolving from the necessities of World War II, the eld dates back to the early 1940s when the use of delayedexplosion bombs burgeoned in Europe. Although the U.S. had not yet entered the war, the country was preparing for that inevitability, according to the EOD Memorial Foundation. Its website reads, It was expected that if the United States entered the war, we would experience bombing of our cities and industries, which spawned the creation of a bomb disposal program. The eld, now known as EOD, has continually adapted to the vicissitudes of war and, along the way, drawn some of the most courageous men and women known to the U.S. military.

NO TIME FOR NERVES

When understanding the individuals in this career eld, its best to put any preconceived notions asideincluding those gleaned from the 2008 lm The Hurt Locker, which the airmen at Andrews explain is not an accurate portrayal of their job or EOD techs in general.

A PREFERRED WEAPON
IEDs in Afghanistan are like a modernday incarnation of Hydra; for each device found and defeated, two more crop up. Since theyre cheap and easy to make,

Tech. Sgt. Michael Danylecs team found a cache of military munitions hidden in an abandoned day building in Afghanistan. Danylec is pictured on the right. (Photo courtesy of Tech. Sgt. Michael Danylec)

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A lot of people see EODs as cowboys, and its far from that, Air National Guard Senior Master Sgt. John Bell says. They go and do deliberate actions to meet the mission requirements. So these guys dont just shoot from the hip and hope it goes well. They have a plan of attack. Our jobs is primarily about being safe, Winder says, refuting the idea in the lm that they would just run out and do something crazy. Dealing with potentially lethal explosives is the part of combat these airmen will say they actually have the most control over, and they shun the

idea of nervousness or anxiety as a description of their mental state when going down on an IED, as they put it. I dont think Ive ever been nervous, Tech. Sgt. Michael Danylec says. I dont like the word nervous, but Im more nervous about a reght than I am working on an IED because Im trained to do both, but theres more variables that are not in my control in a reght. Winder adds that he may feel ramped up for situations hes expecting to go poorly, but those are the missions that never do, he saysindicating that when conditions actually do sour, theres no time for nerves.

THE LAST TO SAY THEYRE HEROES

Through the stories and mannerisms of the airmen at Andrews, its evident EOD techs are not in this job for the bragging rights or the accolades. And, despite saving countless lives on the job, theyll be the last to say theyre heroes. When asked whether they considered any characteristics common among EOD techs, not one of the airmen who sat down with Townhall as part of an exclusive tour of Andrews EOD facility laid a nger on courageous. While agreeing on the alpha personality, with tough skin, aggressive and outgoing also thrown in the mix, only Bell, whos been in the eld for more than

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Left: While reporting at Andrews Air Force Base, Townhall reporter Leah Barkoukis tries on a bomb suit, a roughly 80-pound ensemble meant to offer protection in an explosion. (Photo courtesy of Andrews Air Force
Base Public Affairs Office staff)

Top: Tech. Sgt. Wayne Winder adjusts the controls for the robots camera during a staged IED disarming. (Townhall/Leah Barkoukis)

20 years, would ascribe anything akin to bravery to these individuals. They are heroes, he tells Townhall, because when everybody else is running away, these guys are running in. It takes a lot of internal fortitude to be able to do that. Handling explosives every day for a living isnt for just anyone. For evidence, one need look no further than the attrition rates for the Naval School Explosive Ordnance Disposal, the school responsible for training EOD techs throughout the U.S. military. According to the Air Forces 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs, During scal year 2011, the schools attrition rate was 42 percent

across the four services, with a capacity 1,700-plus students. For the Air Force alone, the attrition rate was 53 percent. Although a reformed preliminary course has signicantly helped reduce the Air Forces attrition rate, these gures reinforce the exclusivity of this community. Those who earn the right to wear the Crab, or EOD badge, after successfully completing the school graduate to face the mental and physical challenges in the eldand the risk. Everybody says in your oath, everyone is supposed to be willing to die for their country, but I think that is a little more prevalent with our career eld, Danylec says. According to an article on Army.mil the ofcial Army websitehes right. EOD is a career eld that experiences one of the highest casualty rates in any military occupation, which makes an intense training process all the more crucial. In the post-9/11 era, the demand for EOD in operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom skyrocketed. As a result, units were assembled quickly with techs that in some cases were not sufciently trained, according to the same Army.mil articlemaking an already dangerous job even more so. It takes awhile to grow an EOD tech, Bell says, adding that they cant be pushed into the eld immediately after graduation. Acquiring the necessary experience can mean the difference

between initial success or total failure the motto EOD techs live by, quite literally.

THE PRICE
With his back to a wall full of inerted explosives, Danylec sits there, eyes xed on the table, ostensibly stumped as he racks his brain for a good story to tell from deployments in Iraq or Afghanistan. Senior Airman JonMical Harry nally breaks the silence: You could just talk about you getting blown up, he says casually. Thats a good one. Not really, Danylec replies as laughter erupts among the other airmen in the room. He relents and proceeds to give a phlegmatic account of the events of the day as if it were any other. It was July 2011 in the Horn of Panjwai, an area in Afghanistans Kandahar Province. It had already been a long day for Danylecs team; IEDs were going off left and right. One device injured a group of Army guys while another, which was meant for a vehicle but was set off by a person, wounded two members of an EOD team along with several other people. In steps Danylecs team. EOD technicians dont just go out when an IED is found; theyre also the called upon to conduct an investigation of the scene when one has been detonated. Theyre looking to determine the type of explosive, materials the insurgents used to build it,
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Tech. Sgt. Michael Danylec makes sure Mysterion gets down the ramp safely. EOD techs nickname their robots, which are often a lifeline when handling explosives. (Townhall/Leah Barkoukis)

how they employed the IED and what their tactics were. All this is key in trying to determine the identity of the IED makers, which is part of the U.S.s overall counter-IED strategy. Even after the investigation and taking care of the device the initial EOD team tried to handle, the day wasnt over for Danylecs team. They received another call shortly after about a roadside culvert IED. When the EOD team arrived, it was clear their robot couldnt be used, even though its a lifeline to EOD techsthere was no way for the bot to get down into the hole. Since this was the only road to another base, clearing the culvert was vital both to ensure the safety of personnel driving over the road and to maintain its integrity so that operations could continue uninterrupted. As team leader, Danylec had no choice but to strap on the bomb suit to go check it out. When looking at the suit, however, one would not be remiss to

think he was gearing up for a trip to the moon insteadthe uniform is a roughly 80-pound, full body ensemble meant to offer protection in an explosion. Danylec headed down with a metal detector and probe in hand. He still couldnt see into the hole so he crawled in, cleared it and began his exit. The blast occurred when Danylec started to climb back out; he had stepped on a secondary IED that was hidden, likely set up that way intentionally. Proof that EOD techs are methodical in their work and always thinking several steps ahead is shown in the way Danylec describes what happened next: It shattered my ankle, my foot, but I just, you know, climbed out and crawled to an area that was already cleared and I knew was safe, and I started to take off my suit and evaluate myself. Once I realized I was alrightwell, for the most part alright, I didnt lose any body parts, I wasnt bleedingit was just about

getting the team ready to nish the problem. Telling my No. 2 guy, Hey, this is what I did, this is how it functioned, this is everything I know about what happened. You need to go down there and nish this up. Later during Townhalls visit to Andrews, Danylec would admit he feels awkward talking about the incident because he knows it could have been much worse. His injuries were miniscule compared to what others in his eld have sustained, including many who have made the ultimate sacrice.

ADJUSTING TO A CHANGED LANDSCAPE

When Bell entered the eld in 1989, the Cold War was coming to an end and no one really knew what an IED was (he recalls one commander even mistakenly referring to it as an IUD). Although improvised explosive devices did exist at the time, Bell says they were mostly in the form of pipe bombs built by high school kids, adding

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that nothing was ever really directed against politicians or government ofcials. Not surprisingly, the EOD eld has changed dramatically in the past decade with the United States being engaged in two wars against enemies that have embraced the IED. No longer is EOD a small, rarely used and little-known service specialty, as a 2011 Air Force Magazine article described their pre-9/11 role, which From just one deployment, a military EOD tech will have acquired more experience than a civilian bomb tech has in his entire career, according to Bell. Due to gaining that perspective, knowledge and ability, theyve become a strong and invaluable force to combat threats both at home and abroad. The more time spent downrange brings concomitant perils but also strengthens and active duty and is blind to both gender and age. Like any career, there are good and bad times, Winder explains, but at the end of the day, this is always just more than a job. Being thrust into a central role in combat operations also takes its toll, however. Techs deploy frequently, leaving family and friends behind, to do a highly dangerous job that requires tremendous mental and physical strength. Many will come home injured; others will not come home at allbut everyone in the eld has made a sacrice to serve the stars and stripes. Nevertheless, EOD is a career eld that carries priceless rewards with the danger. By simply doing their job, EOD techs are not only helping to bring home an untold number of U.S. troops, theyre also saving the lives of countless civilians abroad and serving ordinary communities at home if local bomb squads cant handle a situation. Wherever the threat arises, EOD is a call away, ready to put their lives on the line to save someone elses.

THE FIELD IS A BROTHERHOOD THAT REACHES BEYOND THE CONFINES OF SPECIFIC MILITARY BRANCHES, CONNECTS THE RETIRED AND ACTIVE DUTY AND IS BLIND TO BOTH GENDER AND AGE.
mostly included protecting airelds, Secret Service missions and training, according to Danylec. Since Sept. 11, combat is the status quo for EOD, and their mission set has expanded signicantly as a result. These changes have had a number of discernable effects in the eld in terms of contributing to an augmented skillset, increased camaraderie and demands on personnel. the camaraderie among techs. Over the course of a deployment, Danylec says teams become like family, even if theyve not previously met. By spending every minute together and putting their lives in each others hands every day, the techs form a bond stronger than most could imagine. The eld is a brotherhood that reaches beyond the connes of specic military branches, connects the retired

Leah Barkoukis is web editor at Townhall.com.