EOD aids remote civil officials in dynamite disposal

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Shawn Nickel
  • 354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
Three Explosive Ordinance Disposal Airmen from the 354th Civil Engineer Squadron at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, dispatched 78 miles to lend support to the volunteer fire department and Alaska State Troopers September 20.

The EOD technicians removed and disposed of 65 deteriorating sticks of dynamite and other explosives in an operation under a Defense Support to Civil Authorities agreement.

"The explosives were from the late 60s and were deteriorating to the point where they could have been dangerous if handled incorrectly," said Master Sgt. Harold Horton, 354th CES NCO in charge of EOD.

The seeping box of "TNT" was found in a resident's garage and reported to local law enforcement. Explosives were common in the area when gold mines and farms were being developed.

The local Alaska State Troopers and the local Rural Deltana Volunteer Fire Department have neither the equipment nor the expertise to dispose of explosives, so the Air Force technicians spent days planning the disposal with the local officials.

"The closest 'bomb squad' is in Valdez or Anchorage eight hours away and its not feasible for them to respond places like this," Horton said. "This kind of operation not only helps the community, but it gives us an opportunity to expose our newer Airmen to situations to develop safety habits in a semi-controlled environment."

After the explosives were carefully removed from the property they were safely disposed of by controlled detonation on the dry Tanana River bed. The state troopers and fire department provided security and traffic control.

"We have never been trained or have experience with something like this," said Tim Castleberry, Rural Deltana Volunteer Fire chief. "When we inform citizens around the affected area they are much more comfortable knowing we have the experts here to do things safely, that's just not something we could do without the support of the base."

Eielson's EOD technicians, which form the smallest operational flight in the Air Force, respond around the northern part of the state covering an area of responsibility larger than the entire state of Texas when local civil authorities call for the mutual aid.