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Hurlburt EOD responds to call in Alabama

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Angela Shepherd
  • 1st SOW Public Affairs
HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. --  Three explosive ordnance disposal Airmen from Hurlburt Field recently took a trip to Dauphin Island, Ala., but it wasn't for a vacation; it was to dispose of military ordnance found on the beach there.

Tech. Sgt. Justin Fleming, Staff Sgt. Joseph Gorney and Senior Airman Daniel David made the two-hour drive Sept. 8 after they received a request for assistance from the volunteer fire department on the island.

"A woman who owns property on that stretch of beach was out walking the morning of Labor Day and saw the item floating in the surf, so she called the fire department," Sergeant Fleming said.

When the firefighters arrived, they found the 21-inch long canister, pulled it out of the water, placed it in the sand and discovered it was military ordnance. Initially, the fire department called a Navy unit in the area for military assistance. That unit, who doesn't have EOD, called Eglin Air Force Base who deferred the request to Hurlburt because of the location.

When Hurlburt EOD received the request the next day, they got approval from the 1st Special Operations Mission Support Group commander to support the request and hit the road.

"When we arrived on scene, we were met by Allen Newton from the volunteer fire department," Sergeant Fleming said. "Mr. Newton had already coordinated with the Mobile County Sheriff's Office and the state's marine police. He even had a fire truck at the ready in case we needed it."

After being shown the location of the ordnance, the team left Mr. Newton in the safe area and walked down to inspect the item.

"We were immediately able to identify the item as a marine marker because the writing on the canister was face up," Sergeant Gorney said. "A marine marker is basically the water version of a road flare."

They determined the device was armed, which meant they would have to destroy it on the spot because it wasn't safe to move. After they identified the item, it started emitting toxic red phosphorous smoke, so they covered the canister with wet sand to prevent any more chemical from burning off and started preparing for a detonation.

"We dug a hole about 18 inches deep and 3 feet long, set up an explosive charge with two blocks of C4 and moved the ordnance into the hole," Sergeant Gorney said. "Once we retreated back to the safe area, we received final clearance from the sheriff's office and then electrically initiated the blast."

The detonation was a success: the ordnance and the threat it posed to the public were destroyed.

"We participate in off-base responses to protect the public," said Senior Master Sgt. Martin Cortez, the Hurlburt Field EOD flight chief. "And while this one was a little further away than what we normally respond to, we were the closest military EOD flight."

Who responds to explosive calls depends on what type of item is involved. Typically, if the item is an improvised explosive device or a commercial type of explosive, civilian bomb squads take the lead although they do occasionally request assistance from the military. But if the item is military ordnance, military EOD must be the ones to dispose of it.

Because Hurlburt and Eglin AFB both have EOD flights, they split the response area.

"Eglin covers everything east of Beal Parkway while we cover everything west of Beal," Sergeant Cortez said. "That means we have the potential to respond as far west as Louisiana because we're closer to the south part of that state than any other EOD unit in the area."

While responses that far out are rare, they do happen. Off-base responses, even in the immediate area, aren't all that common either, but Hurlburt EOD does still get called out a few times a year.

"We'll go wherever we need to in the interest of public safety," Sergeant Cortez said.