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.

Would You Take A Job Disarming World War II Bombs In Germany?

DW: Who disarms Germany's WWII bombs?

Defusing bombs dropped over Germany during World War II is Horst Lenz's calling. He is summoned around 1,000 times a year to clear explosive devices. Lenz is guided by Murphy's Law: Anything that can go wrong, will.

Between 1940 and 1945, some 2.7 million tons of bombs were dropped on Europe by US and British forces, half of which landed in Germany. Of the roughly quarter million bombs that did not explode, thousands are still hidden underground all over the country.

Horst Lenz has been defusing bombs since 1984. The 63-year-old director of the Explosive Ordnance Clearance Service in Rhineland-Palatinate and his team of 15 is called in when bombs are found around the state. Last year they found around 35 tons of munitions and munition parts, including 63 unexploded bombs, 319 incendiary devices, 11 anti-tank mines, 444 grenades and 5,045 kilos of bullets.

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WNU Editor: Another country that is littered with unexplored ordinances is Russia. My mother's home town (and now city) is 50 km west of Moscow, and I know the person who is responsible for disarming and disposing World War II ordinances in that area. He is just as busy as Horst Lenz is in Germany, if not more so.

Massive Evacuation Underway In Frankfurt To Defuse A 2,000 lb Bomb From The Second World War

ABC News Online: Two major German cities evacuate more than 60,000 people to defuse WWII bombs

Residents in two German cities are evacuating their homes as authorities prepare to dispose of World War II-era bombs found during construction work this week.

About 21,000 people have been ordered to leave their homes and workplaces in the western city of Koblenz as a precaution before specialists attempt to defuse the 500-kilogram bomb on Saturday afternoon (local time).

Among those moved to safety are prison inmates and hospital patients.

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WNU Editor: My family back in Russia are in the development/construction/management business. This is a common problem on the outskirts of Saint Petersburg and in the urban centres 50 to 100 km. west of Moscow. Artillery shells are the main problem, not bombs dropped from planes.

More News On A Massive Evacuation Underway In Frankfurt To Defuse A 2,000 lb Bomb From The Second World War

Frankfurt starts evacuation before attempt to defuse WWII bomb -- Reuters
90000 Evacuated in Two German Cities to Defuse WWII-era Bombs -- Haaretz
Frankfurt hospitals evacuated before WW2 bomb disposal -- BBC
Thousands evacuated as Germany tackles huge World War II bombs -- The Straits Times
Experts defuse one of two WWII bombs found in Germany -- Al Jazeera

The Life Of A Bomb Disposal Expert In Iraq

Bomb defuser Wissam Daoud treads carefully through salvaged Islamic State explosives at the abandoned house. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

Los Angeles Times: Dismantle bombs — or die trying.

The life of a bomb defuser in Iraq

It is only days before he is due to return home on leave, and commanders have sent him behind enemy lines for one last mission: take some of the explosives the Iraqi army has salvaged from Islamic State and resow them like deadly seeds in the no man’s land they call ard al haram — the forbidden zone.

Islamic State infiltrators have been stealthily crossing through the deserted stretch of abandoned homes and barricaded businesses to mount attacks against Iraqi troops; the explosives are meant to stop them.

Like many young soldiers, Wissam Daoud, a deputy sergeant with the Iraqi Ministry of Interior’s Emergency Response Division, has been fighting alongside his army colleagues for three years to drive the militants out. He has tracked the evolution of their explosives through a half dozen offensives, and can identify them at a glance: the lemsawi, modified mortar rockets; kamala, which can be triggered remotely or by applying pressure; bottle bombs attached to doors; plasma bombs camouflaged as household items or debris.

His job is to render them harmless, or turn them back against the enemy, or die trying.

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WNU Editor: This is probably the most dangerous job in Iraq. There is a great video on this unit here .... Bomb defusers in Mosul (L.A. Times).

Meet The Real Hurt Locker

Photo: Kate Holt photographed British bomb experts clearing the path for British troops in Helmand

The Real Hurt Locker: The Heroism Of British Bomb Experts Clearing The Path For Troops In Helmand -- The Daily Mail

Live asked British journalist Kate Holt to photograph British bomb experts clearing the path for British troops in Helmand. After a year waiting for clearance, this is the result: in words and extraordinary pictures shorn of Hollywood gloss, an account of unquestioning heroism in the face of appalling danger

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My Comment: An impressive story on who the real heroes are. Read it all.

This Is Not A Job For Me

Staff Sgt Karl Ley, 29, made safe 139 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) planted by the Taliban during a six-month tour of Helmand province in Afghanistan Photo: HEATHCLIFF O'MALLEY

Just A Job, Says Bomb Expert Who Risked Life 139 Times -- The Telegraph

An army explosives expert who has defused more bombs than any other British soldier was awarded the George Medal, the second highest award for bravery.

Staff Sgt Karl Ley, 29, made safe 139 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) planted by the Taliban during a six-month tour of Helmand province in Afghanistan.

According to his medal citation, this was "more than any other operator in history" and more than twice as many as the next most prolific bomb disposal expert.

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My Comment: He admits that he has defused 139 bombs .... and what is even more disturbing is that he is keeping count.

The Real Version Of 'Hurt Locker'

The Hurt Locker … Hollywood would have us believe that this man is about to lift 264kg of explosives in one go. Photograph: Everett/Rex

A Version Of Hurt Locker -- Houston Chronicle

Texas Guard unit takes on risks of disabling roadside bombs.

Steven Erb had only two weeks left in his six-month deployment to Afghanistan when a fuel truck reportedly rigged with explosives was discovered on a military base in Kandahar in July 2007.

Erb had to walk to the truck alone, sweating in a claustrophobic 90-pound bomb suit, to search the vehicle and, if necessary, disarm any booby traps. He knew if a bomb went off and ignited the fuel, his heavy protective suit would do little more than keep all his body parts in one place.

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Related Articles:

• 162nd EOD helps Iraqi Federal police cut the wire (waronterrornews.typepad.com)
• Beating the IED threat in Helmand (waronterrornews.typepad.com)
• British bomb disposal expert killed in Afghanistan (telegraph.co.uk)
• Taliban bomb chemical seized (thesun.co.uk)
• Fertiliser used to make roadside bombs seized in Afghanistan (telegraph.co.uk)
• An EOD Team Clears IEDs in an Afghanistan Combat Zone (time.com)
• The Real Life Hurt Locker: Battling IEDs in Afghanistan (time.com)
• iRobot cops US Army droid order, aces Q2 results (go.theregister.com)

Hat Tip: Prairie Pundit

The Story Of A Former Iraq Bomb Disposal Officer

Danger: Captain Ivison as he removes two tonnes of anti-tank mines from an oil tanker in Iraq

'Defusing That Bomb Almost Drove Me Mad': The Unimaginable Stress Of A Former Iraq Bomb Disposal Officer -- The Daily Mail

After facing unimaginable stress as a bomb disposal officer in Iraq, KEVIN IVISON spent years fearing he was going insane. Here, in our second extract from his gripping new book, he tells how he gave up the career he loved for the sake of his sanity . . .

'Two fatalities, one secondary.' I had waited my entire career as an Ammunition Technical Officer – a bomb disposal operator – for that phone call on February 28, 2006.

The message meant two comrades had been killed by a bomb and that there was a second improvised explosive device that had not gone off yet.

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My Comment: You have to be a bit "mad" to take on such a job in a country that you have no attachment to.

A Pointless Death

Bomb Disposal Expert Killed After Defusing 13 Bombs In 36 Hours -- Times Online

An inquest into the death of a bomb disposal expert decorated for his bravery in Afghanistan has heard that he defused 13 bombs under sporadic enemy fire during the 36 hours leading to his death.

Captain Daniel Shepherd’s inquest follows the broadcast of a BBC One Panorama documentary on Monday in which the Army’s senior bomb disposal officer questioned the numbers of personnel available for Afghanistan and the pressures they faced. Captain Shepherd, 28, from Lincoln, was awarded the George Medal posthumously. He died while defusing a bomb on July 20 last year. The “unbelievably courageous” soldier, from 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment, the Royal Logistic Corps, was killed as he tried to defuse a pressure-plated device, the inquest at the Cathedral Centre in Lincoln heard.

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My Comment: This story was emailed to me by one of my readers this weekend. Defusing a bomb every few hours .... what was he and his superiors thinking .... or was he just too tired? They will conduct an inquest, but I suspect that the truth will never be known because the man who really knows is now dead.

Britain's Top Bomb Disposal Officer Resigns In Protest Over Afghan Operations

Army Bomb Chief Quits Amid Fears His Men Are Not Getting Training They Deserve -- The Daily Mail

The Army's top bomb disposal officer has resigned amid fears that his men would be sent to Afghanistan with insufficient training.

Colonel Bob Seddon quit following concerns about the pressure on the military to produce more experts to fight the threat from roadside bombs, it was claimed.

The highly-respected officer was privately worried that he would have to send troops to defuse improvised explosive devices before they were ready.

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More News On The Resignation Of Britain's Top Bomb Disposal Officer

The resignation of Britain's senior bomb disposal officer is a wake up call for the Tories -- The Telegraph
Army's bomb disposal chief resigns after saying Afghan mission needs boost -- The Independent
British army's bomb disposal chief quits after speaking of Afghan pressures -- The Guardian
British bomb expert's widow recalls 'he was so tired' -- BBC
Bomb expert's widow queries army Afghan policy -- Reuters
Widow of bomb expert Staff Sergeant Olaf Schmid says fatigue played part in his death -- The Telegraph
Why did bomb disposal expert Col Bob Seddon resign? -- BBC
Bomb diffusers have the most dangerous job -- The Independent
Army decides to detonate rather than dismantle Taliban bombs -- The Independent

This Bomb Disposal Expert's Comfort Zone Is Defusing IEDs

29 year old Staff Sergeant Karl 'Badger' Ley Photo: HEATHCLIFF O'MALLEY

Defusing 139 Taliban Bombs Was Nothing Special, Says British Soldier -- The Telegraph

A British soldier who defused 139 Taliban bombs in six months has described how he survived one of the bloodiest periods in the history of Army bomb disposal.

Staff Sergeant Karl "Badger" Ley worked in temperatures of 122F (50C) defusing improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and braved being targeted by insurgent snipers, while deployed to Helmand.

The 29-year-old bomb disposal expert from Sheffield saved the lives of countless British soldiers and Afghan nationals during a tour of duty in which three of his closest friends were killed and several others were injured by Taliban bombs.

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My Comment: This disposal expert's comfort zone is defusing IEDs .... my comfort zone is in front of a computer screen.

Sheessshhh .... I feel like a wimp.

On a more serious note .... many brave soldiers have sacrificed their lives in defusing this weapon of choice for the enemy .... our thought and prayers are with the families and their love ones.

Meet The Men Who Defuse Bombs For A Living

Defusing Bombs With the Real 'Hurt Locker' in Afghanistan -- ABC News

Sgt. First Class Millward Has Been Blown Up Twice and Lost Part of a Leg

Wrapped in purple and pink string, the bomb looked more like a piñata than a deadly weapon, but its contents left no question about its intent and target.

"What you have is probably 40 pounds of ammonium nitrate aluminium mix," said Army Sgt. First Class Christopher Millward shortly after he pulled the bomb out of a mountainside dirt road. "Things of that nature usually target coalition forces."

The chemicals were placed in a water cooler like those filled with lemonade on a hot summer's day. It was the first of two IED's, improvised explosive devices, that Millward would dismantle on a recent Saturday.

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My Comment: For more reaction on the movie "Hurt Locker" from the men who defuse bombs for a living, see the bottom video.

Microwaves Could Defuse Bombs From Afar

Photo: An improvised bomb is blown up by an Explosive Ordinance Disposal Special Unit in northern Iraq in late 2005. Bomb disposal is a notoriously dangerous job (Image: Filippo Monteforte / AFP / Getty)

From The New Scientist:

THE next weapon in the US army's arsenal could be a laser-guided microwave blaster designed to destroy explosives.

The weapon, called the Multimode Directed Energy Armament System, uses a high-power laser to ionise the air, creating a plasma channel that acts as a waveguide for the stream of microwaves. The device could destroy the electronic fuse of an explosive device or missile, such as a roadside bomb, or immobilise a vehicle by disabling its ignition system.

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