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EOD Airmen teach, learn at KAF

  • Published
  • By Capt. Jason Smith
  • 451st Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan --  Airmen from the 466th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Operating Location Bravo Flight gave Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, firefighters some specialized training Nov. 21, 2013, at the KAF Fire Department.

Tech. Sgt. Matthew Childers and Staff Sgt. Christopher Bowen, both 466th EOD and both deployed from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, went over Joint EOD Rapid Response Vehicle egress procedures, and unexploded ordnance identification and response procedures, respectively.

According to Staff Sgt. Michael Schuerhoff, 466th EOD, this is the second group of firefighters to get the training in as many weeks.

"It was a joint initiative," said Schuerhoff, who is also deployed from Dyess AFB. "This brings the total to close to 40 firefighters who've gotten the additional training. It's good information to have."

As the rainy season is upon KAF, Schuerhoff said flooding creates the potential for things like landmines to shift. Additionally, as first responders, firefighters need to know how to help get people out of vehicles, like EODs, if overturned.

Conducting training for the firefighters is just a small portion of the large workload EOD has here, said Schuerhoff. There are three Air Force EOD teams working out of the 466th EOD at KAF, and each team has a specific job to accomplish on any given day. The teams also rotate between jobs.

One team conducts the "fly away" mission, said Schuerhoff. In short, that team travels with the unit for which they are providing EOD support. The other two teams are "on-call," or ready to respond to any unexploded ordnance or improvised explosive device situation at a moment's notice. In addition to being on-call, the teams are working retrograde of ordnance.

"KAF is the collection point for all coalition ordnance that are beyond their service life," said Capt. John Fuson, 466th EOD flight commander. "Disposing of left over munitions and cleaning up the remnants of war is a huge task."

Along with all of their other duties, EOD is constantly looking for ways to refine their skills, said Master Sgt. Gregory Pauli, 466th EOD. In the next few days, EOD Airmen are scheduled to receive some specific training regarding circuitry in a counter IED electronics course.

"We have some instructors coming in to teach us some circuitry techniques that are specific to the threats here," said Pauli, who is deployed from Westover Air Reserve Base, Mass. "It's important to know how to counter the most current threats we might face. We'll also learn more details about evidence collection and how to process detonation scenes."

Through the long days and stressful duties, Pauli said the EOD technicians here remain focused. The Airmen of the 466th EOD OLB Flight are some of the most dedicated and hard-working professionals with whom he has served.