F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. -- The 90th Missile Wing hosted a command-level Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) competition here June 27-30, 2022.
The fourth annual Air Force Global Strike Command EOD Team of the Year competition brought six teams, each consisting of a team leader and two additional team members, here to show off and test their skills through 12 challenging scenarios.
“During the week the teams ran operations covering six of the nine EOD mission areas: Conventional Munitions, UXO Recovery Operations, Counter Improvised Explosive Device, Counter Weapons of Mass Destruction, Defense Support to Civil Authorities and Irregular Warfare,” said Master Sgt. Kelly Badger, 90th Civil Engineer Squadron EOD Section Chief. “The purpose of this event is to test and evaluate each team across the command, validating training and competency, as well as bringing teams together to build comradery through some friendly competition.”
The events included challenges testing basic EOD task such as reconnaissance, x-ray diagnostics, robot driving, explosive demolition, and building protective works; as well as full scale operations covering the EOD mission areas mentioned earlier. Teams were scored on how well they performed, with emphasis on safety, accuracy and time.
At the end of the week, the team from Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota earned the winning score and will go on to compete against the two other regional winners to crown the overall Air Force EOD Team of the Year. The team members include TSgt. Fernando Aguilera, SrA. Benjamin Sherva and SrA. Zachary Denig.
“It’s always great when we do something like this and I get to see so many familiar faces,” said Aguilera. “I hope to see you guys again in the future.”
The trio will go on to compete against other winning teams at the Air Force level.
“When we started this, it was just an internal headquarters competition, but we found that it was much more than that, it was an opportunity for teams from our installations to learn from each other, and it really enhanced our overall AFGSC EOD mission,” said Chief Master Sgt. Pulice, AFGSC EOD Career Field Manager. “Evolving this year to an AF-wide competition provides EOD leaders a direct look at the readiness of their teams and helps to identify positive and negative trends. I am really proud of our EOD Airmen in the Command…they are ready for the high-end fight.”
U.S. Air Force EOD members constantly train to detect, disarm and dispose of explosive threats in the various environments throughout the world. These skills allow them to mitigate hazards to personnel and property posed by weapons and explosive materials in all physical domains anytime, anywhere