Latest news with #EOD
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Air Force holds epic exercise to blow stuff up, calls it ‘EPIC CRAB'
'Airmen walk away from an explosive detonation during EPIC CRAB 25 Exercise at Northwest Field, Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, May 1, 2025. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Adasha Williams. In the pantheon of great names for military exercises, few can rival 'EPIC CRAB,' which pays tribute to the unique culture of the military's explosive ordnance disposal, or EOD, community. Led by U.S. Pacific Air Forces, this year's exercise involved EOD technicians from the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and the Republic of Singapore Air Force, said Air Force 1st Lt. Ariana Wilkinson, a spokeswoman for the 36th Wing on Guam. As for why EPIC CRAB is named 'EPIC CRAB,' well, the Air Force had a pretty detailed explanation. 'The name 'CRAB' is derived from the informal term for the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) badge, which is commonly referred to as a 'crab' due to its distinctive shape,' Wilkinson told Task & Purpose in an email. 'This term is widely recognized within the EOD community. The EOD badge is unique in that it is the only badge awarded to service members from multiple Military Occupational Specialties (MOS) and Air Force Specialty Codes (AFSC) across the Department of Defense (DOD), as all EOD technicians attend the same joint training school.' As for the 'EPIC' portion? That's a 'play on 'Expeditionary' in the Pacific region, reflecting the exercise's focus and location,' Wilkinson wrote. And the exercise certainly was epic. A photo taken by the 36th Wing shows four airmen looking totally badass as they nonchalantly walk away from an explosion at Anderson Air Force Base on Guam. The picture could easily be mistaken for an album cover — cue 'My Hero' by the Foo Fighters. It turns out that 'EPIC CRAB' is a variation of a theme. Last year, Navy EOD techs took part in the first King Crab Competition. The Navy's Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 also conducted Snow Crab Exercise 2025 this winter at Camp Ripley in Little Falls, Minnesota. EPIC CRAB 25 was held from April 27 to May 3 on Guam, and it was coordinated by the 554th Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers 'Red Horse' Squadron, Wilkinson said. The exercise took place on several locations across Guam to emphasize distributed operations and decentralized command and control, Wilkinson said. The EOD technicians divided into small teams and then used live explosives to neutralize unexploded ordnance and improvised explosive devices, Wilkinson said. The scenarios took place both in the day and at night, so EOD techs used night vision goggles for nighttime exercises, she said. Air Force EOD technicians must go through extensive training to learn how to deal with bombs, chemical weapons, and even nuclear threats, said Air Force spokesperson Laurel Falls That training begins with the 26-day EOD Preliminary Course at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, which has a 53% attrition rate, Falls told Task & Purpose. The course is meant to test airmen's physical and mental limits to prepare them to deal with explosives. Airmen who make it through the preliminary course go on to the Naval School, Explosive Ordnance Disposal at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, Falls said. The school trains service members from all military benches, and the program lasts 143 days. Following the school, airmen go to their first duty station where they go through 18 more months of advanced training on the 10 core missions that Air Force EOD technicians support, including countering improvised explosive devices, responding to weapons of mass destruction, handling nuclear weapons incidents, recovering unexploded ordnance, clearing operational ranges, and engaging in irregular warfare, Falls said. Army to eliminate 2 Security Force Assistance Brigades, reassign experienced soldiers Why the Army's new XM7 rifle reignited a debate over volume of fire Air Force delay on separation and retirement orders isn't 'stop loss,' defense official says F-35's close call over Yemen raises questions about how it's used An Army unit's 'extreme use of profanity' was so bad, they made a rule about it
Barnama
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Barnama
Malaysia Reaffirm Commitment To Global Peace
From Mohamad Harith Mohamad NizR BERLIN (Germany), May 14 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has reaffirmed its commitment to global peace and stability through a series of significant pledges at the United Nations (UN) Peacekeeping Ministerial 2025, held in Federal Foreign Office, here. Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin representing Malaysia at the high-level event, announced that the country would bolster its involvement in future peacekeeping missions, strengthening its contributions across military, police and humanitarian operations. In his address, Mohamed Khaled highlighted Malaysia's long-standing role in international peacekeeping since 1960, participating in more than 38 peacekeeping operations worldwide, and currently has 876 personnel serving under the UN flag. "We reaffirm our commitment to UN peacekeeping efforts and therefore would like to announce Malaysia's new and continued pledges to the United Nations," he said during his statement for the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial 2025, here today. He said among the new commitments, Malaysia would prepare one Infantry Battalion for future peacekeeping missions under the UN mandate. Mohamed Khaled said the Malaysian Battalion (MALBATT) would be augmented with Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) capability to enhance their operations under the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). "The Malaysian Peacekeeping Centre (MPC) will also continue organising international peacekeeping courses. In 2025, it will host a Training of Trainers course for the UN Staff Officers Specialised Training Materials, scheduled in November. "Malaysia also remains committed to supporting Women, Peace, and Security agenda in line with Uniformed Gender Parity Strategy (UGPS)," he said.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Yahoo
Bomb squad called to petrol station ATM blast
A bomb disposal unit was called to a petrol station after an explosion during an attempted theft at a cash machine. It happened between Sunday evening and Monday morning at Hedgeley Services, off the A697 at Powburn in Northumberland. It was reported the group had arrived in a vehicle before carrying out a small explosion. A Northumbria Police spokesperson said they left empty-handed and no-one was injured. "Officers are in attendance at the scene alongside an Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) team as a precaution," the spokesperson added. Police asked for witnesses to get in touch. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. Northumbria Police
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Yahoo
Bomb squad called to petrol station ATM blast
A bomb disposal unit was called to a petrol station after an explosion during an attempted theft at a cash machine. It happened between Sunday evening and Monday morning at Hedgeley Services, off the A697 at Powburn in Northumberland. It was reported the group had arrived in a vehicle before carrying out a small explosion. A Northumbria Police spokesperson said they left empty-handed and no-one was injured. "Officers are in attendance at the scene alongside an Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) team as a precaution," the spokesperson added. Police asked for witnesses to get in touch. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. Northumbria Police
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Quantico EOD called to remove WWII-era mortar from Virginia home
In central Virginia, it's not uncommon to unearth relics from Civil War battles. But finding a 50mm French mortar dating to World War II hidden in your backyard is something else entirely. That's what happened to Hunter Vap, a Marine veteran and resident of Orange, Virginia. After a midnight encounter with an ancient piece of unexploded ordnance, he'd enlist county officials — and ultimately explosives specialists from Marine Corps Base Quantico, about 70 miles away — to safely dispose of it. Late on the evening of April 23, Vap was alerted by his dog to a fox prowling his property, where he keeps a small farm with pigs, chickens and turkeys. Vap told Marine Corps Times he was moving brush as he chased off the fox when his foot made contact with what felt like a glass bottle. 'I picked it up because, you know, it's where the pigs kind of root up and clear the woods, and I didn't want them to cut themselves on it or something,' Vap said. 'So, I picked it up, and then saw the little fins on the bottom and realized that it wasn't a glass bottle. And for a second I was like, 'There's no way this is actually what I think it is.'' But the plunger and 55mm markings on the side of the mortar were unmistakable. 'I'd already picked it up,' Vap said. 'I went and put it in the shed, so a pig didn't touch it and turn into bacon.' Vap said he'd later receive grief from county officials and coworkers for picking up and moving a potentially live and unstable mortar, particularly in light of his Marine Corps background. The next day, he said, he and his wife Janessa, also a Marine Corps veteran, called over to the Orange County Sheriff's Office for help disposing of the old mortar. County investigator Larry Griffith was wrapping up his workday when he got the call, but said he immediately headed out to assess the situation. A retired Navy diver who spent part of his time in service working as a medic with SEAL teams, Griffith said he had another expert on speed dial: his oldest son, who spent eight years in the Marine Corps as a mortarman. 'When we got on scene and saw this, I actually took a picture of it and sent it to my boy, and he's the one who identified it for me and kind of told me the make and model,' Griffith said. 'And he's like, 'Yeah, I wouldn't mess with it.' I wasn't going to anyways. If there's one thing 20 years in the service taught me, it's don't play with possible unexploded ordnance.' After reaching back to the sheriff's office and contacting state authorities, the decision was made to call in Quantico experts to deal with the mortar. Within hours, two base explosive ordnance disposal technicians had arrived. Since the mortar was old and had been moved once without incident, the EOD techs wore light protection: flight suits, gloves and eyewear. They placed the mortar in a padded ammo can for transport to stop it from jostling on the ride back to Quantico for further inspection, said Staff Sgt. Tyler Blatter, one of the EOD Marines. Already, he said, he and his partner suspected the mortar was inert. When they got to Quantico's demolition range, they X-rayed the mortar, which appeared to be empty. As a final precaution, the EOD team disassembled it days later, on May 1, officials said. 'I would think that it had gotten cleaned out over in Europe, or if it was brought back here at some point during or shortly after World War II,' Blatter said. It might have gotten sold at an ordnance road show, ultimately landing in the possession of the prior owner of the Vaps' home, he guessed. It's not the first time Blatter has been called out to deal with old ordnance outside of a training range. Northern Virginia residents often find old cannonballs or projectiles dating back to the Civil War, he said, adding that EOD was once called to address a Vietnam-era illumination grenade discovered on the side of a road in Quantico, where it had been buried for an untold number of years. In the wake of the mortar's discovery, the Orange County sheriff's office posted a reminder to the public not to touch or move any 'military ordnance or unfamiliar explosive device' they come across. Blatter said the Marines planned to give the mortar back to the sheriff's office so they can display it, both as a way to preserve its history and as a public safety reminder.
