EOD team takes day to focus on gravity of job

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Tong Duong
  • 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  The 56th Civil Engineer Squadron Explosive Ordnance Disposal team will demolish a normal day of work Nov. 7 for something very important -- an Air Force mandated EOD safety down day. 

Maj. Gen. Del Eulberg, Air Force Civil Engineer, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C., directed the down day to allow individual flights to cease operations so Airmen can get together and reflect upon events going on in their career field. 

"Since the U.S. war on terrorism began, 64 U.S. military EOD operators have been killed, including eight Airmen. The number does not include injuries ranging from blindness to severed limbs," said Tech. Sgt. Cary Gibson, 56th CES EOD team leader. "We are taking a moment to pause and reflect on the things that have gone right or wrong. Part of the day will be spent reviewing incident reports of casualties." 

Members of the flight will learn from specific EOD incidents and review their tactics, techniques, and procedures so they can be better prepared to face battlefield dangers.
The Luke team will also conduct open discussions on what they've seen on the battlefield. 

"War changes people," said Chief Master Sgt. Mo Mustafa, 56th CES EOD Flight chief. "We just can't expect to send our people out to bombing incidents where women and children are killed, not to mention the firefights and other lethal engagements that EOD operators constantly find themselves in, and think that it won't affect them down the road." 

According to Chief Mustafa, most in the EOD community personally know someone that has either been killed or injured across all service lines. 

"We are very much a joint family that trains and fights together," Chief Mustafa said. "I find the best therapy is frank open discussions with others that have walked in my boots." 

Mental health experts will be on hand to discuss traumatic brain injury, post traumatic stress disorder and pre- and post-deployment programs. 

The base chaplain's office will also assist with support for families and talk about the balance between mission, family and faith. 

Working in an Air Force career field with less than 1,000 technicians and Airmen constantly deploying into harm's way, Sergeant Gibson feels having a down day is a great way to learn from past experience. 

"It's a sit-down to go over lessons learned," he said. "With the exception of the random mortar attack on a base, we are one of the few Air Force career fields that have experienced casualties. The nature of our jobs puts us in harm's way 24/7. The only way for us to learn and gain experience is to share with one another, because no one else is going to teach us the job." 

Operators from other bases, supporting Luke EOD's bomb range clearing operations that day, will also attend to share their experiences and hear stories as well. 

"We as a career field are at war 24/7. When we are at home, we are prepping for war and are constantly training and it's important to remain in that mind set," Sergeant Gibson said. "General Eulberg is telling us to go back to the basics and to remind ourselves of [the nature of our jobs,] how we go about it and ensure we do it safely." 

Eight Air Force EOD operators have been killed in action since the war began. There is a need to review these incidents so operators can focus on the immediate hazards encountered in unconventional war, Sergeant Gibson noted. 

"If it can happen to one of our best, it can happen to anybody," he said. "The safety down day is our chance to reflect and make sure their deaths are not in vain and we gain some form of experience by them."