Page 1 - Fort Irwin High Desert Warrior, August 2021

Volume 17, Number 8 Published in the interest of the National Training Center and Fort Irwin community • home.army.mil/Irwin August 2021
U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal Soldiers tackle

critical missions around world

By Walter Ham Christi, Texas. “By doing this, we were able to direct the blast
wave down, so that the tank projectile came out of the breach
Contributing Writer 20th CBRNE Command
and not out of the barrel.”
ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Maryland — U.S. With the 50-pound round safely removed, the tank remains
Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians save lives and mission ready.
enable operations by confronting and defeating everything from Solving dangerous and complex explosive problems is what
hand grenades to nuclear weapons. Army EOD technicians do every day. Not only do they defeat
Across the nation and around the world, EOD Soldiers dangerous devices during operations but they also render safe
take on the explosives devices that can harm people and hinder unexploded ordnance, on and o post, with an average of 130
operations during combat missions and training exercises. responses for month.
When a 120mm round got stuck in the barrel of an M1A1 Every day, Army EOD Soldiers serve with joint, interagency
Abrams tank on Fort Irwin, California, Sta Sgt. Caleb S. and allied partners around the world. On a regular basis, these
Canales and Sgt. James L. Phan, EOD technicians from the elite Army units also conduct missions to protect the president, Sta Sgt. Caleb S. Canales has supported 31 EOD missions,
759th EOD Company, 3rd EOD Battalion, 71st EOD Group, vice president and their families as well as foreign heads of state including three improvised explosive devices during a
20th CBRNE Command, were called to the training range to and they train allied forces in demolition, mine eld clearance deployment to Iraq. He is an EOD team leader in the 759th
remove the live round. and explosive safety. EOD Company on Fort Irwin, California. U.S. Army photo by
Arriving on scene on the 100-plus degree day, the EOD Canales has been an EOD technician for six years. He has Capt. Jacob S. Rafalson, 759th Ordnance Company (EOD).
Soldiers attempted non-explosive procedures to extricate the supported 31 EOD missions, including three improvised ex- based 759th EOD Company also support civil authorities in
munition. When that didn’t work in the hot and cramped plosive devices during a deployment to Iraq. 89 counties across California, Nevada and Arizona.
tank, they tried something else — using explosives and water. Today, he leverages his experience to defeat explosive devices Phan has been on 20 missions during his two years at an
“We lled the tank barrel with water to act as a tamper for at the National Training Center, one of the premier combat EOD technician. He said he always wanted to serve in the
our C4 blast,” said Canales, who is originally from Corpus training facilities in the nation. Soldiers from the Fort Irwin- military and he chose to be an EOD technician because he
See EXPLOSIVE, Page 6
Army addressing Archaeology at Fort Irwin

PCS-related issues By Amber Fankhauser

as a top priority FORT IRWIN CALIF. —
Mummies, pyramids, and tombs,
By Susan Merkner oh my! Although the nds are not
Contributing Writer always as dramatic as aspects of
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO- Egyptian archaeology, all archaeolo-
FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas gists strive towards the same goal:
— The Army is addressing service uncovering humanity’s past through
members’ PCS (permanent change of material remains. We use the evi-
station) issues this summer with a newly dence left behind to reconstruct
created crisis action team, or CAT, that what people did, much like crime 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment
meets daily. scene investigators. Animal bones Squadron Chaplain earns Ranger Tab
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, help us understand past hunting
military families are facing challenges activities; tin cans and bottles reveal By Capt. Evan Cain
created by national shortages of mov- more recent diets. Grinding stones FORT IRWIN, CALIF — Opportunities for leadership and
ing trucks and drivers. From April 1 can help reveal materials—often growth are plentiful at every step of a career with the United
through Sept. 30, a period Army lead- In documenting evidence of past activ- States Army. Each organization is committed to increasing
ers call the “summer surge,” more than plant foods, sometimes pigments or small ities, the Fort Irwin archaeologists support its foundation of knowledgeable, trained, and highly-skilled
54,000 people will move from one duty animals—processed at a site. Certain the mission of the National Training Cen- Soldiers. For Chaplain (Capt.) Aaron Fabian, that opportunity
station to another. stone types used for making aked stone ter by ensuring that the Army follows the came in the form of the United States Army Ranger School.
In response, leaders with the U.S. tools (such as knives or arrowheads) can laws and regulations applying to cultural “ roughout my time in the Reserve O cer Training Corps
Army Materiel Command and its ma- reveal the source of the stone, re ecting resources (which include material remains (ROTC), I wanted to pursue a career path in combat arms,
jor subordinate command, U.S. Army past journeys or trade connections. of the past, such as archaeological sites). but God called me to the Chaplain Corps during my junior
See PCS, Page 4 See ARCHAEOLOGY, Page 4 See RANGER, Page 4

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