Defusing the situation: Conventional military munitions disposal Published April 18, 2012 By Senior Airman Jacob Morgan 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- From the Delmarva Peninsula to the mountains of Afghanistan to a park in Botswana, the footsteps of Team Dover's Explosive Ordnance Disposal team can be found on almost every continent. Whether they are traveling with the President of the United States, disposing of antique and possibly deadly military munitions recovered from the ocean, or rendering roadside bombs safe in contingency operations overseas, the men and women of Team Dover EOD keep motivated by one thought - they get rid of something that could take a life. This motivation pushes them to accomplish nine percent of the Air Force EOD mission while comprising less than two percent of the manpower - making Team Dover's EOD a force multiplier with a global reach. Their exploits will be examined in 'Defusing the situation,' - a series about the training, tactics and trials of one of the Air Force's riskiest jobs. Conventional military munitions disposal It is 6 p.m. and the team is just about ready to go home from a hard day of training. As they are walking to their cars, the on-call phone rings. Everyone lets out a short sigh as the team lead picks up the phone. It's the command post -- the team's day is not done. A local business has dredged up some old military munitions while gathering clam shells, and it's the EOD team's mission to dispose of them. The location is in Maryland and Team Dover's EOD has jurisdiction on the entire Delmarva Peninsula for military ordnance. The company found a 37mm High Explosive Projectile from World War I. The team gets prepared and as soon as they get approval from the wing commander, they collect C4, a plastic explosive with a detonation velocity of approximately 26,000 feet per second, and head out in their off-base response truck. "Our job is to protect the public, that includes service members, US citizens and foreign citizens," said Tech. Sgt. Christopher Adjoodani, an EOD craftsman with the 436th Civil Engineer Squadron. "By law, all old military munitions are our responsibility, and any time we get the opportunity to protect the public, we dedicate our whole team to the job." Some of the team stays back at the office to coordinate with local agencies and provide research assistance. During the hour-and-a-half drive to the site, each member walks themselves through their training keeping in mind there is probably more than one type of ordnance. From World War I until 1972 the Department of Defense's policy was to dump some military munitions into the ocean off the East Coast. So it is not uncommon for the companies to have smaller ordnance as well. "Local companies do a great job of keeping their people safe," said Capt. John Fuson, EOD flight commander with the 436th CES. "They have places to store the potential explosives, they know what poses a threat to safety and they promptly notify us." As EOD arrives to the location, company employees take them to their bunker. The EOD team sifts through the smaller rounds and finds a six-pound cannonball that is not explosive. They don all of the necessary protective equipment and approach the 37mm High Explosive Projectile. Each member accepts a level of risk when dealing with explosive ordnance -- this projectile has been devoured by salt water and corrosion and it could be unstable. "At this point in time, the projectile is owned by the EOD team lead," said Fuson. The team lead, Adjoodani, determines the round is not safe for long-distance transport. The team back at Dover AFB coordinates with local officials to find a safe place to dispose of the projectile. It is now 1 a.m. and the team has been working all day. They are tired and hungry, but they must keep their mental edge. One of the team members at home drives to the site with food and water to replenish the on-scene team. They wrap the projectile in rags and sand and place it in a closed metal container. They drive carefully to a local bomb squad's explosives range and set up the C4 to neutralize the ordnance. No matter how long or how much experience an EOD member has, each explosion is unique, and when the projectile is destroyed relief washes over the team. "Once we are done rendering the ordnance safe; the scene is returned to the local authorities and we head home," said Fuson. By the time they get to sleep they have all been awake for more than 24 hours. Long days are normal for EOD members and disposing of explosive ordnance is a job with inherent risks. These risks are exponentially increased when in a deployed location, where many Team Dover EOD members have spent almost half of their careers outside of training. The next story in the series "Defusing the situation" will take readers through a typical day in the life of an EOD member at a deployed location.