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An ammunition dump is on fire in the capital of a country friendly to the United States. As explosions rock the ground, unexploded munitions litter the area, including the U.S. Embassy compound. A small team of Navy explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) technicians is dispatched from a nearby carrier battle group to render safe the hazardous ordnance in the embassy compound and to provide initial assistance to the host nation in bringing this disaster under control.
The approaches to a major foreign port are reported to have been mined by a neighboring country. Although the United States has strong economic and political interests in the region, there are few U.S. forces in the area. The mining must be verified before a national response can be formulated. An EOD mine countermeasures detachment is deployed rapidly to the region. Its mission is to work with the host nation to determine if mining has occurred and, if so, to recover and exploit a mine for intelligence purposes.
Because of the potential impact mining of these waters would have on international shipping, time is a critical factor.
In a third scenario, a U.S. warship sailing peacefully in international waters has been attacked by a hostile aircraft. Two air-to-surface
missiles have struck the ship. One has exploded, causing extensive damage to the ship and the missiles and torpedoes in her magazines.
The second missile has failed to explode, and its warhead is lodged in a berthing compartment. The ship is badly damaged, but still afloat. Before she can be taken in port for repairs, the weapons in her magazines—which have been damaged by fire, water, and shock—and the
unexploded missile must be disarmed and rendered safe. A Navy EOD detachment is dispatched to neutralize the explosive hazards, so further efforts to save the ship can proceed.
These are not war-game scenar- 1 ios. The first incident described the < Navy’s response in 1987 to a situation in Karachi, Pakistan; the second < recalled our assistance to Kuwait in ] 1987, after Iran mined the approaches to Kuwait City; and the third was the response to the Iraqi attack on the USS Stark (FFG-31).
The common element in all of these incidents—and many others, as well—was the presence of Navy EOD. Indeed, Navy EOD has long supported naval operations, both at sea and ashore.
Created by necessity in World War II, EOD forces have acted as the Navy’s elite “bomb squad” for more than 50 years. Whenever incidents involving unexploded ordnance have threatened operations, forces, lives, or property, highly skilled EOD people have responded. A demanding year of initial training— focusing on diving and ordnance ranging from conventional weapons to nuclear weapons to improvised terrorist devices—prepares Navy EOD personnel to han- die any situation involving hazardous and unexploded ordnance, wherever it may be found. As the Navy responds to changing national security imperatives and the emerg- I. ing concept of joint expeditionary warfare in littoral regions, EOD will lead the way.
As naval forces move from the sea into the littorals, Navy explosive ordnance disposal detachments—here, an EOD team member cuts through to a heavily mined beach in Kuwait—will be among those enabling elements clearing the way.
The recognized value of EOD j suPport has increased with the refocusing of naval activity in the littorals. We have and will continue to confront a great variety and diversity of threats, from former Soviet First World weapons to those that ure indigenously manufactured by Third World countries. Unexploded ordnance—whether it be an unexPloded missile or bomb embedded to a ship, mines and booby traps impeding advance or maneuver, or munitions left littering an area and endangering troops and civilians—can have an adverse affect on operations. The British learned a hard lesson about the value of having EOD trained and integrated into their forces during the Falklands Conflict, "'hen HMS Antelope blew up and sunk after a British Army EOD technician tried to disarm an unexPloded bomb on board the ship.
Over the last ten years, U.S. Navy EOD operations have removed or neutralized explosive hazards to Navy and Marine Corps operations °n numerous occasions:
^ During the 1980-88 Persian Gulf tanker war between Iran and Iraq, there were several occasions of Navy EOD being tasked to render safe and recover unexploded bombs and missiles that had struck neutral foreign-flag tankers.
^ During Desert Storm, EOD personnel were dispersed throughout the Northern Persian Gulf to counter the mine threat. As moored or float- tog mines were sighted, two-man EOD teams were taken by helicopter to jump in on the mines, attach explosive charges, and swim away to be recovered by the waiting helicopter before the mines exploded.
^ In the aftermath of Desert Storm, an EOD team from the Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) battle group flew into northern Iraq as part of Operation Provide Comfort, to remove explosive hazards threatening
Kurdish refugees and U.S. relief efforts. Operating in locations without support and uncomfortably close to Iraqi soldiers, this five-man Navy- Marine team disposed of more than 34 tons of hazardous ordnance.
>■ After Desert Storm, Navy EOD teams were instrumental in clearing the approaches to and the port of Kuwait City. EOD mine countermeasures detachments worked with integrated air and surface forces to clear bottom and moored mines from the Northern Gulf.
>- Throughout 1993, EOD forces supported joint operations in Somalia, conducting routine ordnance disposal and clearing hazards around the port of Mogadishu, to open resupply routes.
Naval forces continue to refine their roles in the littorals, and Navy EOD has kept pace, refocusing on organizational relationships. Under the old way of operating, EOD deployed on board aircraft carriers—to support flight-deck operations involving fuzed ordnance; ammunition ships supporting ordnance movements; and selected amphibious ships when AV-8B Harriers were embarked. Before this, EOD was largely unknown to the battle group or amphibious task group commander and not routinely included in exercises or fully integrated into group operations. As naval forces moved into the littorals and the threat presented by unexploded ordnance became more pronounced, a new organizational relationship that fully integrated EOD into training and day-to-day operations was required.
Today, there are two EOD mobile detachments assigned as task elements to each carrier battle group. One detachment is located on the carrier, with the officer in charge dual-hatted with a task unit designator. In addition to leading his detachment, he functions as an advisor to the battle group commander,
making operational assignments to the EOD task elements assigned under him. The second EOD detachment, also designated as a task element, most often is located on the logistics support ships, with embarked helicopter detachments providing mobility. These two detachments provide traditional support to carrier flight-deck operations and also respond rapidly as detachments or two- or three-man elements.
Within the amphibious ready group, the EOD detachment is assigned to the Commander, Amphibious Task Force, with the EOD officer in charge also performing as an EOD advisor. This detachment integrates with embarked Marine and special-operations forces as well as providing basic EOD support to the ready group. This organizational relationship allows the detachments to be assigned to their respective operational commander from the beginning of the deployment work-up cycle and included in all phases of planning and exercises.
Navy EOD forces are now deployed as an active and integral part of the Navy’s expeditionary force. Working with other warfare elements, they provide EOD expertise for visit, board, and search operations; noncombat evacuations; and humanitarian assistance; as well as supporting amphibious and mine- warfare operations. They give the operational commander a vital and flexible capability to support an ever-increasing assortment of operational scenarios. As naval forces move from the sea into the littorals, Navy EOD will be among those enabling elements clearing the way.
Commander Resing is deputy program manager for Surface Mine Countermeasures Systems at Program Executive Office for Mine Warfare at Arlington, Virginia. He was commanding officer of EOD Mobile Unit 2 during Operation Desert Storm.