SATHER AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) –
Editor's note: Senior Master Sgt. Pervis King is deployed from the 1st Civil Engineer Squadron's Explosive Ordnance Disposal Flight at Langley.
Improvised explosive devices account for more than 40 percent of all U.S. servicemember deaths, but a small group of professional Airmen make the roads of Baghdad a little safer by taking out any IED, explosively formed penetrator or unexploded ordnance that gets in their way.
The 447th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron's explosive ordnance disposal flights play a very important role in mitigating the threats and have for years.
Capt. Kyle Kruger, the Alpha Flight commander here, said that EOD professionals love it here because they get to do their job, keep everyone safe.
"Currently, we support about 1,200 square kilometers in the (Multi-National Division-Center) area," said Captain Kruger, who is deployed from Minot Air Force Base, N.D. "We (also) have two teams that support the airfield at all times."
Those teams respond to any unexploded ordnance found on base or around the airfield, respond to calls from the vehicle search area and perform post-blast actions after indirect or direct fire attacks.
Six teams perform missions in and around Baghdad. Two of those teams work out of Sather Air Base, and the other four teams are located at forward operating bases around Baghdad.
The Airmen in Bravo Flight support the Army's 4th Brigade Combat Team at FOB Loyalty. They are in a unique position, not only as a unit geographically separated from their parent squadron, but also as the first Air Force EOD team at the FOB.
"Unlike the other (Air Force) EOD flights in Iraq, we do not have an airfield or air base support mission," said Capt. Scott Stanford, Bravo Flight commander, who is deployed from McGuire AFB, N.J. "We are strictly supporting the brigade. All the other Iraq EOD flights support both an outside-the-wire mission and an on-base airfield mission."
Although in different locations, the EOD flights perform the same basic jobs in supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom in Baghdad.
"We do a lot of route clearance missions," said Staff Sgt. Jordan Bishopp, who is deployed to the 447th ECES' Bravo Flight from Kirtland AFB, N.M. "Basically, we go out with the engineers trying to find IEDs so we can take care of them so they don't hit patrols going out. We also have our typical response to any IED found in our area of operations. When the patrols are out, they call us, and we do our best to neutralize it."
Location is key to disarming the enemy.
"We've got a pretty large area around Baghdad, and in order to get weapons from outside Baghdad into Baghdad, they (the weapons) go through a lot of areas surrounding Baghdad," Captain Kruger said. "So we help support by going out and clearing roads and finding caches that people are probably trying to smuggle into Baghdad. We take those caches and blow them up, so they can't be used by the enemy."
The job of an EOD professional doesn't stop when the explosion is done. They concentrate their efforts on finding more information to help intelligence agencies stop the terrorists before they get a chance to plant another IED or EFP.
"Everything that's new in the country or new trends in IEDs starts in this (area of operation)," Sergeant Bishopp said. "Intelligence gathering is really important for us. Any intelligence we gather is going to help out the rest of the country. It starts here first, and it'll just migrate if they (terrorists) find out it works. Gathering intelligence and new tactics, techniques and procedures used by the enemy are really important."
For Airmen whose jobs rely on terrorist activity, the recent reduction in violence has given them a chance to rest up. EOD technicians stay heavily involved with keeping roads safe for Soldiers and Airmen and still respond to unexploded ordnance calls, but luckily, they don't do it as much as they did a year ago.
"It's been really slow lately because of the cease-fire with the Mahdi Army and Muqtada al-Sadr," said Sergeant Bishopp. "Before that, it was pretty busy."
Alpha Flight only gets about a quarter of the response calls today as it received a year ago, but Alpha Flight's Airmen haven't forgotten why they're here.
"I love my job," said Senior Master Sgt. Pervis King, EOD Alpha Flight superintendent, deployed from Langley AFB, Va. "I get to blow things up. I couldn't ask for more."