OCTOBER 31, 2024 – The senior Explosive Ordnance Disposal technician in the U.S. Army encourages anyone who discovers something that might be an unexploded bomb to call in the bomb squad.
Command Sgt. Maj. Dave Silva, the senior enlisted leader for the 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command and the senior EOD tech in the U.S. Army, has responded to hundreds of unexploded ordnance calls during his 28 years as an EOD tech.
From Civil War era cannon balls to potentially explosive items from foreign battlefields, unexploded ordnance, also known as UXO, comes in all shapes and sizes, said Silva.
“Most people don’t realize just how prevalent the UXO problem is globally. Unexploded ordnance is most often discovered in former war zones. Artillery, mortar and aerial bombardment produce unexploded munitions that are often slightly or deeply buried,” said Silva. “Years later through either natural earth movement or often construction, UXO is unearthed.”
Silva said unexploded ordnance is frequently discovered at home and abroad.
“A large-scale source of UXO outside of the United States are minefields. Once emplaced for area denial, long after a war concludes, minefields remain hazards forever,” said Silva. “Here at home, we find UXO in former training areas, in people’s residences that they kept after wars, and occasionally we still dig up Civil War era cannonballs.”
Explosive remnants of war continue to live on long after the guns fall silent during battles studied in history books.
“We still discover World War II bombs all over Europe and the Pacific,” said Silva. “The United States supports Humanitarian Mine Action missions. The State Department, along with the Department of Defense, assist nations to rid UXO saturated areas, most often land mines, so that their citizens can live safely. All around the world U.S. EOD techs teach partner nations how to safely render safe and dispose of UXO that would otherwise kill or maim.”
As the senior enlisted leader for the 20th CBRNE Command where most of the U.S. Army’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians are assigned, Silva travels across the nation and around the world to meet CBRNE Soldiers and see them in action.
Headquartered on Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, in Northeast Maryland’s science, technology and security corridor, the 20th CBRNE Command is home to 75 percent of the Active-Duty U.S. Army EOD technicians and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) specialist, as well as the 1st Global Field Medical Laboratory, CBRNE Analytical and Remediation Activity, Weapons of Mass Destruction Coordination Teams and Nuclear Disablement Teams.
From 19 bases in 16 states, Soldiers and Army civilians from the 20th CBRNE Command confront and defeat the world’s most dangerous hazards in support of joint, interagency and multinational operations.
The 20th CBRNE Command has two U.S. Army EOD groups, five EOD battalions and 32 EOD companies that enable military operations around the world and support domestic authorities across the nation.
As the U.S. Army’s explosives experts, EOD Soldiers take on dangerous and complex explosive devices that harm people and hinder missions.
EOD units support all combatant commands during deployments and exercises.
EOD techs from the 20th CBRNE Command also conduct Very Important Person Protection Support Activity missions, providing protection to the president, first lady, vice president and foreign heads of states.
Since civilian bomb squads are not authorized to work on military munitions due to the Military Munitions Rule in the Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. military EOD techs are called when old military munitions are discovered off base. Per DoD Directive 3025.18, DoD Instruction 3025.21 and Joint Publication 3-42, EOD technicians are the only Department of Defense personnel authorized to respond and render safe unexploded munitions and ordnance.
During the past two years, EOD techs from 20th CBRNE Command have responded to an average of 1,500 discovered military munitions a year off-post and on-post.
EOD units from the 20th CBRNE Command respond to UXO almost weekly when old munitions are either dug up or discovered somewhere.
In support of Federal, state or local public safety bomb technicians, Fire Departments or hazardous material response teams, U.S. military EOD techs are called in to support civil authorities, said Silva
The closest Department of Defense EOD unit typically responds to domestic missions.
“Our military EOD are trained and equipped to handle literally every form of explosive hazard, be it ordnance, commercial or homemade explosives, or improvised explosives,” said Silva.
“We spend a lot of time training and working with our civilian counterparts and during those engagements they are made familiar with who their DoD responding units are,” said Silva. “Some of our response areas are vast. Our unit (the 53rd EOD Company) at the Yakima Training Center in Washington, for example, covers halfway through Montana.
A Master EOD technician who has deployed seven times and served in Iraq and Afghanistan, Silva said UXO can be found just about anywhere.
Silva seen a wide variety of different kinds during his career.
“I’ve responded to everything from dynamite and cannonballs to stolen hand grenades. I’d say the most unusual response was when the ATF was serving a warrant and their Radiac alarms went off so they backed out and requested support,” said Silva. “DoD EOD techs are trained and equipped to respond to chemical and radiological hazards.”
After performing reconnaissance, his EOD team discovered that the radioactive hazard was not explosive at all but rather an instrument cluster from an L39 Albatross aircraft.
“We also found a Jet Assisted Take Off (JATO) bottle on the same incident,” said Silva, who is originally from Long Beach, California. “You never know what you’ll come across, so we take every precaution until we are sure what we’re dealing with.”
Silva said that only professional explosives experts should deal with anything that resembles an unexploded munition.
He encouraged anyone who discovers something to immediately contact local authorities.
“Leave it where you found it, don’t touch it and notify local law enforcement. In every case, it’s important to note, ordnance doesn’t get ‘safer’ over time. So just because it hasn’t detonated, doesn’t mean it can’t,” said Silva.
“Lots of explosive hazards aren’t obvious, so if there’s any suspicion at all, call it in,” said Silva. “We don’t mind coming out. We would rather respond to 100 false alarms than one post-blast where someone was hurt.”
Story by Walter Ham
20th CBRNE Command