EOD trains with local authorities

SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. – Airmen of the 4th Civil Engineering Squadron’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal team host members of the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office for a joint training exercise Aug. 25, 2010. The EOD Airmen displayed techniques such as how to breech a door and various ways to disarm bombs and suspicious packages. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Makenzie Lang)

EOD trains with local authorities

SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. – Master Sgt. Van Hood explains uses of an F6 Android to members of the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office during a joint training exercise Aug. 25, 2010. Explosive Ordnance Disposal teams use this robot for reconnaissance, placing charges and keeping distance between personnel and explosives. Sergeant Hood, 4th Civil Engineering Squadron explosive ordnance disposal superintendent, is from Greensboro. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Makenzie Lang)

EOD trains with local authorities

SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. – Members of Wayne County Sheriff’s Office and the 4th Civil Engineering Squadron’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal team investigate the aftermath of a multi layered vehicle disrupter explosion during a joint training exercise Aug. 25, 2010. Military and civilian law enforcement partnerships enhance familiarization of their capabilities allowing for smoother operations in the event they must work together. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Makenzie Lang)

EOD trains with local authorities

SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. – Airmen from the 4th Civil Engineering Squadron Explosive Ordnance Disposal team and members of Wayne County Sheriff’s Office pose for a photo after participating in a joint training exercise Aug. 25, 2010. As part of the training, EOD Airmen displayed techniques such as how to breech a door and various ways to disarm bombs and suspicious packages. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Makenzie Lang)

EOD trains with local authorities

Published Aug. 30, 2010
By Tech. Sgt. Tammie Moore
4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. -- The 4th Civil Engineer Squadron Explosive Ordnance Disposal team conducted joint training with the Goldsboro Sheriff's Department and Special Weapons and Tactics team here Aug. 25.

Rather than listening to a PowerPoint presentation, the group spent the morning in the field discussing a capability and then receiving a demonstration of the concept. Personnel watched as a door was blown off its hinges, a robot remotely shot a car trunk open, and a thermite grenade melted through a cast-iron pipe. The team also witnessed damages caused by five-pounds of explosives.

"We (covered) explosive breaching for vehicles and facilities and a thermite burn to show how we can dispose of weapons and caches," said Master Sgt. Van Hood, 4th CES EOD chief plans and acting superintendent. "(We also) showed them the capabilities we have to assist them in any situations they may come across. We are an emergency team capable of responding within a 200 mile radius if they need assistance breaching into a house or a meth lab facility or if they have suspect explosives or booby traps."

This is the second time the EOD team has trained with the Goldsboro Sheriff's Department in the last six months.

"It is not important for us to know how to make a bomb or how to set-off a bomb," said Sergeant Richard Blizzard, Wayne County Sheriff's patrol division and SWAT commander. "It is important for us to know what to look for. There is no one (on our team) who is bomb trained, so if we see something we are going to back out and call EOD from Seymour or EOD from the State Bureau of InvestigationI."

This joint training provides more than an avenue for the teams to showcase their capabilities.

"We try to get together every few months with some organization such as the State Bureau of Investigation to keep the relationship open, so anything they come across we will know about and we can give them the same information," Sergeant Hood said. "We want to help each other out it; we have to complement each other. We are all here for the same reason."