788th Ordnance Company Soldiers complete Iraq service 

      The 788th Ordnance Company (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) at Fort McCoy returned from a successful deployment providing combat support to coalition military missions throughout 70 percent of Baghdad, Iraq.

Capt. Christopher T. Wilson (left) and Sgt. 1st Class Marc A. Mutka (right) of the 788th Ordnance Company prepare an SA2 rocket motor for disposal. (Contributed photo).

      Capt. Christopher T. Wilson, the 788th Ordnance Company (EOD) commander, reported the unit performed 1,596 EOD missions during its service from July 2004 to January 2005 in support of the 1st Calvary Division of Fort Hood, Texas. Along with Baghdad, the 788th EOD fragmented out a team to support the 1st Cavalry's offensive in An Najaf. EOD is the only military occupational specialty that deploys for a six-month rotation due to the high operations tempo and the stress that inherently comes with the job, Wilson said.

      These operations played a vital role in keeping the main supply routes, troop convoy routes, and patrol areas clear of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and other explosive hazards throughout the Baghdad area, he said. EOD Soldiers are the only soldiers in the Army trained and authorized to properly identify, render safe and dispose of unexploded ordnance, IEDs, and vehicle-borne IEDs (VBIEDs) in Iraq. With the technical expertise that EOD Soldiers maintain, it ensures they also are trained for other operations to include post blast investigations, he said. This enables them to identify the IED after it has detonated, and collect valuable intelligence from the scene. Using this intelligence, new and improved render safe procedures, and tactics, techniques and procedures were created for use throughout Iraq. 

EOD Soldiers detonate an SA2 rocket motor, with approximately 1,000 pounds of explosives, after its disposal. (Contributed photo)

      The in-country conditions proved challenging, especially the heat that ranged up to 150 degrees, Wilson said. This would intensify once a team leader would put on a bomb suit. Imagine standing in the open with the desert heat coming at you from all directions with the possibility of shots fired at any moment, and having to put on a 100-pound Kevlar suit for "the walk" (to investigate an IED site), all the while facing the fact that you are walking down range to disarm something that was placed there to kill you, Wilson said.

      "The teams often would do multiple consecutive missions before coming in," he said. "We had to ensure everyone was drinking enough water to remain hydrated. At times, the front of the command post was used as an IV station for teams returning from multiple consecutive missions."

      EOD unit teams gained extensive experience with IEDs during their in-country tour, even though they trained on simulated incidents from the latest intelligence during EOD specific training called "Global Antiterrorist Training and Operational Readiness" training at Redstone Arsenal, Ala. Wilson said this training doesn't even compare to the conditions found in Iraq.

      "It was the real deal every day," Wilson said. "Teams sometimes rendered safe and disposed of nine or 10 IEDs a day."

      The EOD teams rendered safe 15 VBIEDs -- cars filled with explosives rigged to detonate -- during their tour in country. "This type of experience was unheard of five years ago," Wilson said. "There is no other place in the world where you can gather that kind of knowledge and experience."

      As the only type of comparison he knew about, Wilson offered the fact that Northern Ireland did 30,000 IEDs in 30 years, which averages out to approximately three a day or 1,000 a year. On average the U.S. Army EOD companies deployed to Iraq are rendering safe 30 IEDs a day or more than 10,000 a year. The sheer numbers of IEDs alone are mind numbing, he said, and do not even take into account the numbers of plain ordnance items that litter the battlefield.

      The Soldiers served in a complicated environment, Wilson said. IEDs, for example, aren't something that would normally be isolated and lying alongside a road that would stand out and naturally draw their attention. Insurgents often would hide IEDs among garbage, concreted into curbs, tires or other items on a road. IEDs also might be hidden in or used to booby-trap a body or animal carcass. Insurgent personnel also used rocket launchers or mortar fire to indiscriminately target coalition forward operating bases.