Page 10 - Luke AFB Thunderbolt July 1 2016
P. 10
July 2016 News Thunderbolt
http://www.luke.af.mil
10 www.aerotechnews.com/lukeafb
EOD Airmen provide combat support anytime, anywhere
Story and photo by Tech. Sgt. at load barn, and more experienced techni- Senior Airman Logan Avery, 56th Civil Engineer Squadron Explosive Ordnance Dis-
LUTHER MITCHELL Jr. cians in the shop ensure we are meeting posal team leader, renders safe a simulated homemade explosive during training June
quality standards.” 24 at Luke Air Force Base. Avery is wearing an EOD 9 Bomb Suit and Helmet for pro-
56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs tection against directional fragments.
EOD Airmen provide operational and
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. — wartime support, and train on improvised
“Our primary mission at Luke is to support explosive devices, chemical, nuclear, as
the pilot training mission,” said Senior well as unexploded ordinance threats. As
Airman Kyle Lyon, 56th Civil Engineer part of EOD responsibilities, team mem-
Squadron Explosive Ordinance Squadron bers also help out in the local community.
team member. “Whether it is a hung gun
or a hung air, we take care of it.” “During election season, we support very
important person missions for the presi-
In addition to supporting the ightline, dent and rst lady,” Lyon said. “Whenever
EOD Airmen also provide aircraft support they are going to events, anywhere around
at the Barry M. Goldwater Range and Gila the world, we send a team to detect explo-
Bend Air Force Auxiliary Field in South- sive hazards.”
west Arizona.
Providing VIP support comes with ben-
“We clear the target area that pilots e ts, but for Lyon the best part of the job
use to drop munitions on,” Lyon said. “We is the bond of brotherhood it builds.
also pick up ordinances that have duded,
so range management can replace targets “I like the comradery the most about my
and pilots can continue their training mis- job,” Lyon said. “We butt heads, but we get
sion. In the winter and fall, we also spend each other. And I like to blow up stuff.”
six weeks at the range clearing target
practice areas.” EOD Airmen build life long bonds com-
pleting some of the most dangerous mis-
To become an EOD Airman, a candi- sions in the Air Force. For Staff Sgt. Kim
date must complete the Air Force’s EOD Daniel, 56th CES EOD team leader, having
preliminary course and Navy School EOD trust in training is important.
training. Once graduates arrive at Luke,
Airmen get additional training on ordi- “Everybody’s form of dangerous is dif-
nances speci cs to the base. ferent,” Daniel said. “I’m very meticulous
about things, and once I understand how
“We go over the different ordinances the things work, it becomes like second nature.
aircraft support and use here,” Lyon said. I know it’s dangerous, but I’m already
“We train with crew chiefs on ordinances planning on how to proceed as safely as
possible. I trust my training.”
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