EOD: Service before self

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Malcolm Mayfield
  • 90th Missile Wing Public Affairs
F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. --  The 90th Civil Engineering Squadron provides base support by maintaining Warren's facilities. There are many branches of the squadron; one is the explosive ordnance disposal team.

EOD personnel undergo rigorous training at the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Detachment, at the Naval School, on Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, which conducts all the Department of Defense's basic EOD training.

"On this base, we are in charge of emergency response operations for all explosive tools, items and the safing of nuclear weapons," said Senior Airman Weston Cobb, 90th CES EOD operations.

The primary mission of EOD on Warren is base support, which involves disarming and handling ordnance.

"There are always explosives and explosive hazards around and there needs to be someone with the technical expertise to know how the item works to keep everyone around it safe," said Senior Airman Brian Vosper, EOD equipment custodian.

Unlike most military bases, Warren is a part of a unique enterprise that leads to duties outside of normal procedures.

"This is my eighth base and the overall EOD mission is pretty much the same everywhere," said Senior Master Sgt. Donald Deming, EOD superintendent. "The nuclear mission is the real big difference at F.E. Warren, and it is the first time I have been assigned to a base in [Global Strike Command].  It has been really interesting learning the unique aspects of this mission set."

The EOD team trains constantly to keep the base populous, and those in the surrounding area, safe.

"Constantly learning is like a fire hose of information every day, especially when we're in training," Vosper said. "It's always new things and different every day, it's challenging and that's why I like it."

A huge chunk of the EOD personnel's time is spent on training; however, they also dedicate a lot of their time to the community.

"I like the relationship that the base has with the local community," Deming said. "It is nice to have a community that is so behind their military partners."

Volunteering is normal for those in the unit. The team gives back to the community, from working with the local boy scouts to cleaning up the highway.

"We try to go out as much as we can whenever we're free," Cobb said. "It's pretty much whoever is free. At least two or three times a month we'll do something and that'll be a good handful of people who goes."

The EOD team is an example of Airmen fulfilling the Air Force core value of service before self by looking out for the base community while giving back to the local community.

"I would never be a part of any other career field; EOD is a close knit family," Deming said. "I am honored to be a part of such a tight brotherhood and will always be around my fellow EOD warriors."