CONTACT: Eric Durr 518-786-4581

FOR RELEASE: Tuesday, Jun 19, 2007

ON SITE: MSG Corine Lombardo 518-786-4581

CAMP SMITH-Defusing Improvised Explosive Devices, or IEDs, and neutralizing car bombs are among the unique skills the New York Army National Guard's 501st Ordnance Battalion training on at Camp Smith this month. The Schenectady-based unit is an Explosive Ordnance Disposal, or EOD unit. The units Soldiers have been honing their skills to ensure the battalion headquarters and the 1108th Ordnance Co., its New York subordinate EOD element, meet Army standards. The annual training period runs from June 9 to June 23. It takes about a year to fully train an EOD technician, said Major Robert Mitchell, the battalion's executive officer and acting commander. The bulk of that training is done at specialized schools but the annual training period allows the Soldiers to work together at basic tasks, team building and work on their common Army Warrior Tasks. Mitchell served as an EOD officer with the 10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan in 2001. Along with the 1108th Ordnance Co., also based in Schenectady, the 501st has training and readiness oversight of three other EOD companies, the 387th Ordnance Co. of the Massachusetts Army National Guard, the 753rd Ordnance Co. of the West Virginia Army National Guard, and the 745th Ordnance Co. of the Michigan Army National Guard. EOD soldiers are trained to conduct explosive ordnance disposal operations in combat zones and here at home when required. In Iraq and Afghanistan EOD soldiers are often the first line of defense against IEDs found along and sometimes in roadways, and more lethal devices like cars filled with old artillery shells, known as VBIEDs, or Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices. Here at home the National Guard EOD units can support the U.S. Secret Service, the Department of State and other federal law enforcement agencies if required. EOD units like the 501st employ a variety of sophisticated equipment to do their jobs. These include the TALON man-portable robot, a 100-pound tracked robot which allows the EOD technician to examine munitions from a safe distance, and the Advanced Bomb Suit. The ABS is a full-body suit designed to protect the EOD Soldier from fragmentation, blast, heat, flame and the overpressure of an explosion. EOD Soldiers are also trained in identifying chemical, biological and radiological agents using advanced detection equipment. EOD Soldiers are intensively trained. It takes 38 weeks of training for an enlisted soldier to qualify in EOD and 44 weeks for an officer. All EOD Soldiers go through a ten week Explosive Ordnance Disposal Basic Course at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama. A second 28-week course taught at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida provides additional skills on dealing with identifying and disposing of conventional and chemical weapons and IEDs. Officers and some non-commissioned officers take a six week course in nuclear weapons. The unit training cycle starts with certifying the team leader and then works toward collective tasks that the unit must conduct to be successful. Along with its responsibility for EOD elements in four states, the 501st also has responsibility for the New York National Guard's 1427th Transportation Company, and the 206th Military Police Company.