The Bomb-Blowing Heroes Of Iraq

[NATO AIR]

Good to see the EOD (i play dominoes on the ship underway with some of our EOD guys, they're a "special" bunch) nutsos getting some good press....

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/GuestColumns/Fumento20050901.shtml

The Bomb-blowing Heroes of Iraq
Michael Fumento (archive)

September 1, 2005 | Print | Recommend to a friend

In a war in which most coalition casualties are caused by improvised explosive devices (IEDs), no unit is more important than Explosive Ordnance Disposal. Perhaps that's why Steven Bochco felt obligated to smear them as unreliable in his anti-war, anti-reality TV series "Over There." But here's what I saw with a real EOD team I was embedded with at Camp Fallujah, Iraq.

Commanded by Navy Lt. Cameron Chen, the 8th Engineer Support Battalion EOD comprises ten Marines and five sailors.

Like all EOD personnel, they trained at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. Marines get seven months of instruction, with sailors an additional two to disable underwater devices.

Our first call came from a patrolling Recon team. EOD gets plenty of false alarms, but this was real. The duty EOD response team grabbed me and we quickly set off in a Humvee.

The enemy favors using artillery shells as IEDS, although anything can conceal a homemade bomb including even animal carcasses. Cars and trucks either used in suicide attacks or left by the side of the road are called vehicle-borne IEDs.

(VBIEDs.) In our case, a 130-millimeter shell packed with P4 plastic explosive had been buried just to the side of a major highway. Terrorists favor this location, since it's difficult to bury and conceal a bomb in asphalt.

Recon remained to protect us, while we arrived with our own security escort from military police. The IED they come to disarm is usually the least safety worry of EOD teams. Terrorists don't like these guys who remove their little "gifts," and use many means to stop them.

 

[Annie]

Good to see the EOD (i play dominoes on the ship underway with some of our EOD guys, they're a "special" bunch) nutsos getting some good press....

Tried to rep, must spread it around. Our military has been splendid in all aspects of this war. My hope is they would be allowed to complete their missions, but am becoming disillusioned that it will happen.

 

[NATO AIR]

Tried to rep, must spread it around. Our military has been splendid in all aspects of this war. My hope is they would be allowed to complete their missions, but am becoming disillusioned that it will happen.

its sad when you talk to people coming back from Iraq on R&R, they're just disilluioned with the American people and the leadership... a good number of them feel Pres. Bush is not hitting back hard enough at the liberals and the media, and also feel the American people are just giving up on them.

That's not good. I feel for them, and have been getting to know quite a few of them now that several corpsmen and other Navy folks are returning to Yokosuka after their 12 month stints in Iraq....

They love their job though, they think the Iraqis can really pull this off and they're ready to go back if necessary...

just my POV from this part of the world and its returning vets..

 

[Annie]

its sad when you talk to people coming back from Iraq on R&R, they're just disilluioned with the American people and the leadership... a good number of them feel Pres. Bush is not hitting back hard enough at the liberals and the media, and also feel the American people are just giving up on them.

That's not good. I feel for them, and have been getting to know quite a few of them now that several corpsmen and other Navy folks are returning to Yokosuka after their 12 month stints in Iraq....

They love their job though, they think the Iraqis can really pull this off and they're ready to go back if necessary...

just my POV from this part of the world and its returning vets..

What's really sad, it's the kids now 7, 8, 9 who will be fighting a stronger, more confident, energized enemy. Think OBL after actually winning.

 

[NATO AIR]

What's really sad, it's the kids now 7, 8, 9 who will be fighting a stronger, more confident, energized enemy. Think OBL after actually winning.

not if we succeed in iraq...

 

[Annie]

not if we succeed in iraq...

I just don't think 'If' is going to be allowed to play out. Perhaps it's a combo of weeks of Bush NOT getting the message and now the Katrina drumbeat. In any case, politics does control war and GW is losing the politics.

 

[Gunny]

Good to see the EOD (i play dominoes on the ship underway with some of our EOD guys, they're a "special" bunch) nutsos getting some good press....

The bonuses for EOD are outrageous. STILL not enough. I'm trying to recall any EOD personnell I knew having all ten digits after 5-6 years.

 

[NATO AIR]

The bonuses for EOD are outrageous. STILL not enough. I'm trying to recall any EOD personnell I knew having all ten digits after 5-6 years.

:teeth: i do my best to take them bonuses away, one dominoes game after a time.

yea, the EOD chief on board has like half a ring finger on his left hand.

the rest are younguns....

 

[Gunny]

:teeth: i do my best to take them bonuses away, one dominoes game after a time.

yea, the EOD chief on board has like half a ring finger on his left hand.

the rest are younguns....

Heh ....sorry ....not the life for ME. Pitting my nerves against an unstable device is going to culminate eventually in losing to the odds. Those dudes have MY utmost respect.

I've always wondered how they stand the strain. They have to be on double-doses of Paxil!!!

 

[pegwinn]

Big steel Balls.

The kind that don't rust.

You recognize them by the loud CLANK during close order drill.

 

[NATO AIR]

Big steel Balls.

The kind that don't rust.

You recognize them by the loud CLANK during close order drill.

oh yea... you can tell by the little to no patience they have for fools (regardless of paygrade) who waste their time or get in the way of their mission... gotta appreciate who know what the hell they're talking about and don't have time for doubts.

 

[pegwinn]

oh yea... you can tell by the little to no patience they have for fools (regardless of paygrade) who waste their time or get in the way of their mission... gotta appreciate who know what the hell they're talking about and don't have time for doubts.

Actually I noticed that trait about pretty much the whole US Military. It becomes more apparent the closer you get to a combat action ribbon. Conversly the farther away........ the more tact and diplomacy is required to "accomplish the mission".

 

[Gunny]

Actually I noticed that trait about pretty much the whole US Military. It becomes more apparent the closer you get to a combat action ribbon. Conversly the farther away........ the more tact and diplomacy is required to "accomplish the mission".

LMAO .... so true. The only OSs I ever lost out on were in tact and personal relations. Unappreciative asshats.