EOD mobile unit 11 DET five: the sign at the main gate may say naval air weapons station China Lake, Calif., but for eight teammates the navy's 1,800 square mile desert and mountain test range, is Iraq and Afghanistan - Explosive Ordnance Disposal

All Hands, April, 2004 by James G. Pinsky

Braving subzero temperatures and howling wind gusts of more than 50 mph to complete the final phase of their five-week team-training period, the team of eight Sailors from Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 11, Det. 5 deployed from Whidbey Island, Wash., to complete a week-long field exercise prior to deploying in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Also deployed to China Lake was EODMU 11, Det. 5's exercise enemy, the wily San Diego-based EOD Training and Evaluation Unit (EODTEU) 1. They did everything in their power to trick, harass, confuse and defeat their fellow EOD teammates with innovative booby traps, unexploded ordnance problems, chemical, radiological and biological weapons scenarios and numerous stress-inducing intangibles. The goal is to deploy Det. 5 with no doubt in their minds that they have the training necessary to complete their mission safely and effectively.

"It's life or death for the guys who are training, so we want to put as much effort into the scenarios as the enemy would," said EODMU 11 Readiness and Training Chief, Chief Electronics Technician (EOD/SW/AW) John Lane. "The enemy isn't playing by the rules so we can't either to properly prepare our troops to complete their missions."

"Over in Iraq, Iraqi resistance fighters are bastardizing a lot of munitions, so we simulate that during the field training these guys go through here at China Lake," said EODTEU 1 instructor, Mineman First Class(EOD) Shane Williams. "What they encounter here is exactly what they will encounter over in Iraq, Afghanistan or any other theater of operations."

During the field exercise, EODMU 11, Det. 5 encountered several real-world scenarios designed to evaluate the level of "knowledge and proficiency of the team. The team deployed to a simulated hostile environment where they set up camp in the desert of China Lake's northern range. For the first two days the team operated from their main base camp with two scenarios. The first was an airfield assessment. They were transported by truck to an "enemy" airfield that had been seized by friendly fortes. The team had to identify threats at the airfield and make it safe for operations. On the second day the team embarked on its second scenario, hiking about three miles to "B" Mountain laden with 80 pound packs of gear needed for rendering the area safe for occupying threes. At both sites the team executed actual demolitions, a significant part of training that was difficult for EOD teams to access before being allowed to train at China Lake.

"Following the events of Sept. 11th, 2001, EOD had a hard time finding suitable training areas where we could conduct realistic training scenarios and utilize live demolition because so many other military units were maximizing their own weapons training" said EODTEU 1 Assistant Training Officer, LTJG Alan Beaty. "We needed our own dedicated EOD training area so about a year ago, we were able to gain access to the China Lake ranges. China Lake is perfect for us because the desert and mountain ranges mimic today's area of operations for EOD teams, and being able to use live demolition adds a level of realism that teams need--especially the junior team members--to be as well trained as possible prior to deploying to the field."

After the first two days of main camp training, the team received orders to deploy some 8,000 feet above sea level to the Coso Mountain Test Range, which borders the Sierra Nevada Mountains. There the team battled a savvy "enemy" in harsh weather conditions and ruggedly steep terrain. Three days of scenarios evaluated the team's skills in addressing nuclear and radiological situations, seizing and rendering safe military infrastructure--bridges, weapons caches, and armored equipment--and an encounter with an eerily realistic chemical and biological weapons facility.

"All of the problems the teams encounter here at China Lake come from after-action reports from Iraq, Afghanistan and other real-world operations," said EODTEU 1 Training Officer LT Tim Bonderharr.

The tests are real, though the threats are simulated to a lesser degree. Instead of a bomb really blowing up if an EOD teammate makes a mistake, a small charge pops to remind the teammate that he just committed an error.

"It's obvious when we make a mistake," said EODMU 11, Det. 5 teammate Intelligence Specialist Second Class (EOD/SW) Chad Munroe. "The simulation that the training unit uses makes sure we operate, even in a training environment, just like the situation is real. We feel the pressure of working on a real anti-personnel mine or trying to disarm a booby trap because the training unit blows up real demolition at a safe distance if we make a mistake. The explosion is real, and it tells you better than anything else that you just screwed up."

"It's a real attention getter to hear that explosion," said Parachute Rigger First Class (EOD/AW) Matthew Harrison. "It's a tough thing to swallow when we make mistakes during training, but better to make a mistake here and correct it and still be able to walk away than to make a mistake in the field and really get hurt."