U.S. Bomb Disposal Soldiers Are Increasingly At Risk In War Zones Like Afghanistan

A member of the Afghan National Civil Order Police wears a bomb suit as he begins an explosive ordnance disposal, or EOD, culminating training exercise, July 4, 2013, in eastern Afghanistan, which was coordinated by U.S. EOD advisers with the 731st EOD Company, out of Fort Stewart, Ga. Afghan security forces continue to grow as they prepare to take full responsibility for security ahead of the U.S. Forces scheduled drawdown. (Photo Credit: Staff Sgt. Elvis Umanzor, 4th IBCT, 3rd Inf. Div. Public Affairs)

New York Times: Fighting Next to U.S. Commandos, but Without the Same Training and Gear

WASHINGTON — The Army has failed to adequately train and equip the military bomb technicians and infantry troops who are increasingly accompanying American commandos on high-risk missions in war zones, according to interviews and documents obtained by The New York Times.

As the Pentagon draws down the number of troops in combat, including in Afghanistan and Syria, it is largely relying on Special Operations forces to keep up the fight. Those American commandos depend on support from remaining conventional troops for extra firepower, security and logistics.

But the documents and interviews with seven military officials show that the backup forces — including explosive ordnance disposal, or E.O.D., soldiers — often do not have the necessary gear for protection nor the same level of training as the commandos they join on Special Operations raids and patrols.

“There is a difference between conventional and S.O.F. support equipment requirements for E.O.D. personnel,” concluded one of the documents from October 2017, which reviewed the performance of an Army bomb disposal unit after it returned from Afghanistan.

“We need to be able to shoot, move, and communicate as effectively as our supported unit in order to remain an enabler, not a liability,” the document said.

One bomb disposal soldier was killed last month, and another in March, while accompanying Special Operations forces on missions. They were among the 10 American troops who have died in combat in Afghanistan so far in 2019.

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WNU Editor: Being a bomb disposal soldier must be one of the most dangerous jobs in the military.