DVIDS – News – US Army Airborne EOD techs prepare with Military Working Dog groups on Fort Liberty

FORT LIBERTY, N.C. – U.S. Army Airborne Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians supported Military Working Dog coaching on Fort Liberty, North Carolina.

EOD techs from the 722nd Ordnance Company (EOD) skilled with Military Working Dog groups from the 550th MWD Detachment.

Capt. Eugene E. Osborne, the commander of the 722nd EOD Company, mentioned the coaching improved the readiness of the EOD paratroopers and Military Working Dog groups.

“The highlight of the training with the 550th MWD was being able to integrate interoperability of EOD paratroopers and K-9s and their handlers,” mentioned Osborne. “The senior K-9 handler reached out to us to help facilitate training for two K-9 teams poised to move forward and support enduring missions overseas.”

Sgt. Martin E. Daniels, a Military Working Dog handler, served because the 550th MWD Detachment coordinator for the coaching.

“The goal behind this training was to give the experience to our EOD paratroopers of working alongside a dual-purpose ‘fur missile’ and to instill confidence in both parties of their capabilities,” mentioned Osborne. “The type of training conducted was a simple area search that required the K-9 to rapidly clear an area and if the situation called for it, an EOD would move in to further investigate the scene.”

Osborne mentioned the coaching helped not solely the Military Working Dog unit redevelop its commonplace working procedures for working along with EOD technicians but in addition helped his EOD paratroopers to additional their information on the aptitude of the Military Working Dog groups and implement them quickly.

The coaching additionally helped the Military Working Dog handlers to grasp among the hazards that they might encounter and gave solutions on how the handler might keep away from them with the canine in lead, mentioned Osborne.

This sort of coaching results in stronger capabilities for each items, he added.

“We worked alongside three separate teams that were comprised of their handlers and a Belgian Malinois or a German Shepherd,” mentioned Osborne. “K-9s have the opportunity to make our EOD paratroopers safer by providing standoff between our personnel and potential hazards by using their enhanced natural capabilities.”

As the U.S. Army’s explosive consultants, EOD technicians confront and defeat the explosives designed to imperil troops and impede missions.

The U.S. navy has roughly 1,600 Military Working Dogs that serve in each department of the United States Armed Services.

These extremely skilled dogs not solely present paws on the bottom but in addition help operations at sea and within the air. The U.S. Air Force’s 341st Training Squadron has been coaching the dogs because the Fifties.

EOD forces work alongside Military Working Dog items for a wide range of missions from Defense Support to Civil Authorities and U.S. Secret Service help to enduring missions abroad.

The 722nd EOD Company is a part of the 192nd EOD Battalion, 52nd EOD Group and twentieth Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command, the U.S. Department of Defense’s premier deployable CBRNE formation.

Headquartered on Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, the twentieth CBRNE Command is home to 75 % of the active-duty U.S. Army’s EOD technicians and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) specialists, in addition to the first Area Medical Laboratory, CBRNE Analytical and Remediation Activity, 5 Weapons of Mass Destruction Coordination Teams and three Nuclear Disablement Teams (Infrastructure).

American Soldiers and U.S. Army civilians from the twentieth CBRNE Command deploy from 19 bases in 16 states to tackle the world’s most harmful hazards in help of joint, interagency and multinational operations.

The 722nd EOD Company was activated in 2021 for the Afghanistan evacuation and the corporate was marshalled to carry out an airborne assault. EOD techs from the corporate additionally help home response missions in North Carolina and the western portion of Virginia.

U.S. Army EOD firms on Fort Liberty, North Carolina, help the XVIII Airborne Corps and 82nd Airborne Division on the U.S. Army’s Immediate Response Force.

When assigned to the rotational Immediate Response Force mission, Army EOD techs have to remain able to deploy inside 18 hours.

Osborne mentioned EOD technicians from the 722nd EOD Company have skilled with counterparts from the United Kingdom, U.S. Army 18th Airborne Corps Field Artillery, 82nd Airborne Division and U.S. Army Special Forces items throughout the previous two years.

“The 722nd EOD Company prides itself in our ability to find, formulate and execute training with units inside and outside Fort Liberty,” mentioned Osborne. “We have a great relationship with 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, and continuously execute various training events that either involve airborne operations, fly-away missions or the standard ground movement to an objective.”