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Grissom's new EOD unit comes online

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Mark R. W. Orders-Woempner
  • 434th ARW Public Affairs
GRISSOM AIR RESERVE BASE, Ind. --  Most explosive ordnance disposal technicians at some point make the long walk; a lone walk into the unknown to face off against a device that was designed to maim, kill and destroy.

A group of EOD Airmen, each having made their own long walks, are now making a trek of a different kind, as they stand up a new EOD flight here, one of four such new units in the Air Force Reserve Command.

These new units are being stood up to help support the growing demand for the highly-skilled EOD Airmen around the world, especially in places like Afghanistan, explained Senior Master Sgt. Brad McKinney, AFRC EOD functional manager.

"The Air Force Reserve EOD program started in 1994, and the early units were spread around," explained Senior Master Sgt. Scott Fleek, 434th Civil Engineer Squadron EOD flight superintendent. "We started with 8 or 10 units that were associate flights, strictly made up of traditional reservists, and initially only a few of them had their own equipment cells for deployment."

As time went on in those early years, EOD units grew at different paces, having different numbers of personnel and equipment at each location.

"The number of personnel in each of those units varied," said Fleek, "One unit might have 23 EOD technicians while another only had 12."

But a lot changed in almost two decades with 9/11, Afghanistan and the increased threat of terrorism, and with that change came a high demand for EOD techs.

"The Air Force Reserve's answer was to take all of these flights and level them, so all of them have 14, except for three range bases, which have 16," explained Fleek. "In doing so, they took the positions at each stand-alone unit and made eight of them traditional reservist positions, and increased the number of (full-time) positions from two or three to six."

They also set up four new stand-alone units at Reserve units in Minnesota, New York, Texas and at Grissom Minneapolis, added the 23-year EOD veteran, who arrived at Grissom in August 2011 to stand up the unit here.

The leveling of existing units' personnel along with the addition of the new units also had two major benefits, the first of which was an increase in force protection at Air Force Reserve bases.

"At some locations, we didn't have EOD support within four hours," said McKinney, who was the first Air Force reservist to graduate from EOD training. "That would be like having the nearest fire department three hours away, and you wouldn't want that."

The second benefit to the addition was an increase in ease of management.

"It's nice and cookie cutter with everything standard, and if you look at what's best, having standard numbers really helps," elaborated the functional manger. "It allows for headquarters to better manage manpower, and it's a lot easier to procure supplies and equipment."

But from a Grissom perspective, the first benefit is perhaps the greatest.

"At Grissom, we have three missions," said Fleek. "First and foremost is protection of the base and base assets against any explosive hazards, improvised explosive devices, or other devices of terrorism."

And having an EOD team here helps keep the base and the entire north central Indiana region safer, added McKinney.

The second mission of the 434th CES EOD Flight is a regional response to any U.S. military munitions around Grissom.

"The DOD is responsible for all U.S. military munitions from cradle to grave, from when it was made in the factory to when it's destroyed," explained Fleek. "If local law enforcement finds military munitions, such as a hand grenade, they have the option to call the closest military EOD unit, and if that's us, we will respond."

The third mission Fleek discussed is the unit's job of organizing, training and equipping deployable EOD technicians, which he added is just as vital as the first.

"For the Airmen that fill the traditional reserve roles, their job is to maintain proficiency and to be a deployable force," he explained. "My job is to ensure all the tools, equipment, funding, space, planning and architecture needed are there to ensure both the traditional reservist and the (active guard and reserve) EOD technicians become some of the most proficient EOD techs out there."

And, those AGRs use their experience to help train and equip the traditional reservists.

"Every one of our AGRs has spent time in Afghanistan or Iraq, so the wealth of knowledge we have is vast," said Fleek, who added that despite their current abilities, the unit won't be fully operational until 2014.