EOD Techs: Never comfortable

It's overcast and humid in the early morning hours on Day 2 of Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technician dive school at Naval Support Activity Panama City, Fla. Students are still wet from a 500-meter swim portion of the physical screening test, and now covered in sand and sweat. They drop to complete another set of push-ups at Thor's Playground, a wooded workout area. Spit and vomit ooze from their mouths as they are pushed beyond limits. Words of “motivation” flow from an instructor’s voice. Those first days were a “wake-up call," said student, Seaman James Harris. "You know it's going to be bad and when you get there - it's way worse than you expected. … The challenges are bigger, and the pressure is a lot more than what you expected." EOD techs locate, identify, render safe and explosively dispose of foreign and domestic ordnance including conventional, chemical, biological, nuclear, underwater and terrorist-type devices. This enables access during military operations in support of carrier and expeditionary strike groups, mine countermeasures, and joint Special Forces. Students complete an EOD preparatory course after boot camp, then a nine week diver course; basic EOD training for 41 weeks; and a final phase of basic EOD training that includes basic airborne and EOD tactical training for a 55 more weeks. "You're never going to be comfortable in this pipeline," said Harris, “because the more uncomfortable you get, the more comfortable you become being uncomfortable." The EOD community is unique for its skill set and training, and known for their unbreakable bond to one another and commitment to sometime impossible tasks. EOD techs push past most all physical and mental barriers and knowingly commit themselves to a community unlike any other. (Source: All Hands 07/18/18)