EOD Airmen support multiple missions

Airman 1st Class Joshua Lail and Tech. Sgt. Chad McCrackin, 4th Civil Engineer Squadron explosive ordnance disposal technicians, fill water jugs with fuel for an airpower demonstration on Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., March 4, 2010. The EOD Airmen place the fuel-filled jugs on top of a C4 block to add fire effects to the demonstration. Lail is from Hickory, N.C. and McCrackin is a reservist from Charleston, S.C., and hails from Myrtle Beach, S.C. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Courtney Richardson)

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EOD Airmen support multiple missions

Senior Airman Cooper Gibson, 4th Civil Engineer Squadron explosive ordnance disposal technician, tapes detonation cord to a fuel-filled water bottle on Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., March 4, 2010. The cord can detonate multiple charges simultaneously regardless of the distance from the initiation point. Gibson hails from Friendswood, Texas. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Courtney Richardson)

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EOD Airmen support multiple missions

Airmen from the 4th Civil Engineer Squadron explosive ordnance disposal flight pre-position detonation cord for a simulated strafing run on Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., March 4, 2010. Detonation cord is a thin, flexible tube with an explosive core. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Courtney Richardson)

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EOD Airmen support multiple missions

Members from the 4th Civil Engineer Squadron explosive ordnance disposal flight setup a simulated strafing run during an airpower demonstration on Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., March 4, 2010. Strafing is when a low-flying aircraft attacks a ground target and, although the earliest use of military aircraft was for observing and directing counter attacks, was frequently practiced in World War I.(U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Courtney Richardson)

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EOD Airmen support multiple missions

Published March 10, 2010
By Staff Sgt. Courtney Richardson
4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. -- The 4th Civil Engineer Squadron explosive ordnance disposal flight has many capabilities ranging from disposal of hazardous explosives to assisting outside agencies like the U.S Secret Service, FBI and local law enforcement agencies. Their skills are put to use for the benefit of servicemembers, the American public and even Olympic athletes.

Since EOD Airmen must work together to help save the lives of others, they receive extensive training. To learn their skill set, EOD Airmen attend a nine-month, joint-service technical training school. After graduation the Airmen spend a year being upgraded through on-the-job training. They are then placed on an 18-month probation period where they are held to and tested by real-world standards.

There are rare occasions where EOD Airmen are called upon to step out of their normal role of preventing an explosion to simulating strafing runs for airpower demonstrations. These runs consist of filling numerous water jugs with fuel and placing a block of C4 underneath; the block of C4 adds a fire effect to the demonstrations. The EOD Airmen connect the jugs together with detonation cord and set them off simultaneously with a charge.