EOD Vs. Combat Engineers

Lately there has been several discussions about what my husband does and whether or not his job is needed. This annoys the hell out of me. Every job is needed in the military. No job is better or worse.  I want to make that very clear. I am also not calling anyone out. I do not doubt anyone's experiences in Iraq or Afghanistan. I am merely pointing out facts and policy of what is supposed to, in an ideal world be done. Again, I am in no way shape or form saying EOD is better than any other job. I am simply trying to educate those who do not know what EOD does and enlighten the differences between the two jobs. Anything that is my commentary is in blue. Official sources (AR, Goarmy.com etc.) are in red.

I am quite sure that this blog will be copied and pasted back to the Combat Engineer wife whose blogs states that "EOD is not needed, a complete waste of time and space, and nothing but an annoyance" and also that "the men spend so much time waiting for EOD to take care of IEDs that it would be better if they just blew them up themselves. They are quite capable and trained to deal with IEDs. My husband has singlehandedly blown up over 50 IEDS in the last seven months alone. By himself. He didnt need EOD why does anyone else?" The second statement is false in that her husband is trained to take care of IEDs. Whether he has or has not I wont argue the experience. The first statement- well I wont even justify that with a response.

Now, I am in no way putting down Combat Engineers nor am I saying that EOD is better than them. That is not the case. EOD is simply a different job. They do very different things but because of Urban Warfare and the Iraqi and Afghanistan wars people have been confusing the jobs. I am also NOT calling anyone a liar. Her PFC husband could very well have blown up over 50 IEDs in Iraq, singlehandedly, by himself without the help of another Combat Engineer, or any EOD techs. However, had he done so he has broke Army Policy, safety regulations and put many peoples lives in jeapordy. People think that EOD is about blowing things up. It is not. EOD is about life saving operations. The goal of EOD is to save lives by rendering safe explosives. Unlike the rumors the job is much more than making something go "boom."

EOD stands for "Explosive Ordnance Disposal" (think bomb tech). EOD not only deals with Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Enhanced High Explosives, IEDS, but are now also trained to deal with WMDs as well.

 EOD demands some of the highest scores in the Army

 EOD has one of the longest schools in the Army

EOD Techs must be able to posses a Top Secrete Security Clearance

EOD Techs have to be able to work in 80lb + bomb suits in all weather

Army EOD Techs go on VIPS (Very Important Person) TDY missions with the Secret Service.  They wear Secret Service type uniforms and anyone who can have a SS escort can also have an Army EOD escort. EOD receives a civilian clothing allowance for this.

 EOD gets demo pay year round

 EOD gets AIP (Army incentive pay or Save Pay) year round

From the Department of the Army:

The EOD Career Program is a volunteer program designed to train Soldiers in the location, identification, evaluation, safe rendering, recovery and final disposition of both surface and underwater Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Enhanced High Explosive (CBRNE) ordnance, improvised explosive devices (IED), unexploded ordnance (UXO) and previously unknown ordnance used worldwide to protect the commander's combat power.  In addition, they also provide EOD support to the President of the United States, Vice President and others as directed in coordination with the U.S. Secret Service.  Force protection threats around the world have also increased the average level of EOD support provided to the United States Secret Service for protection of the President and Vice President as directed in DoD Directive 3025.13.  Recent Presidential Decision Directives have designated certain major events (Olympics, World Trade Organization (WTO), Super Bowl, etc.) as "National Security Special Events (NSSE)" and directed EOD support to these events, which again has increased EOD mission requirements.   

EOD Soldiers provide force protection, against any type of explosive device, to US forces, operations and installations in CONUS and around the world, during peacetime, wartime, and during other contingencies.  They make safety assessments, identify courses of action, and select procedures to defuse explosive devices built by criminals, saboteurs or terrorists.  They operate in urban, desert, jungle and mountain environments and will deploy to locations throughout the world.  They will work with foreign militaries on real world missions as well as training exercises.

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It is also incorrect to say that Combat Engineers, Infantry or any other MOS are trained to take care of IEDs. This is a false statement. After talking to many high ranking officials in the Army and looking up Army Regulations I have found that it AGAINST Army Regulation (and can result in a dishonorable discharge as well as other charges) for any person in the military to handle or disarm an IED with out the proper training and certification.

Combat Engineers have a unique job that does a ton of work in both Iraq and Afghanistan. They are a combat MOS so all their soldiers are men. EOD is not a combat MOS and their soldiers are both genders. Combat Engineers do a lot of route clearance, breaking down doors and combat related jobs.  Combat Engineers are not trained to Render Safe explosives.

The following is on EOCA policy. EOCA is a class that engineers are technically required to have before doing certain things with explosives.

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According to  Army policy  EOCA is...

"To close the gap between EOD personnel and combat

engineers, the EOD Integration Working Group,

consisting of members from both the engineer and EOD

communities, recommended the creation of an Explosive

Ordnance Clearance Agent (EOCA) Course to train engineers

and increase the force's ability to deal with UXO on the

battlefield.

Explosive ordnance clearance is defined as the investigation,

detection, location, marking, reporting, and

preparation of protective works for UXO. It also includes the

in-place disposal of UXO identified in the EOCA Identification

Guide and theater-specific UXO handbook. EOCA training

does not authorize or qualify engineers to clear or dispose of

caches and captured enemy ammunition without EOD clearance

and direction, nor does it qualify or authorize engineers to deal with improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The role of

EOCA-qualified engineers is to dispose of in-place, selected

UXO that is positively identified in their EOCA handbook,

while performing combat engineer missions. EOCA-trained

personnel are not responders—this mission remains with EOD qualified

personnel."

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In other words Engineers are not allowed to deal with IEDS. They are only allowed to deal with a few types of UXO that are in the handbook that they are given. They are only to deal with those UXO when on a mission affected by them. They are not supposed to, nor are they trained or qualified to ever deal with IEDs. (That is in bold above)  Whether or not they follow this is debatable however, that is the Army policy. (Now we all know that what Army Regulations state and what is done are two totally different things. For instance- adultery. It is against the UCMJ to commit adultery but adultery is committed all the time.)

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(GoArmy.Com)

Combat Engineers

(Basic training plus 6 Weeks of AIT Training)

Having a combination of combat ability and building skills is necessary when it comes to tackling rough terrain in combat situations. Combat Engineers primarily supervise, serve or assist as a member of a team. They provide much-needed combat engineering, such as building roads, constructing bridges or helping our forces to move across foreign land.

Some of your duties as a Combat Engineer may include:

    * Constructing trails, roads and field fortifications such as shelters, bunkers and gun emplacements

    * Assembling floating or prefabricated bridges

    * Operating various light or heavy engineer vehicles

    * Placing and detonating explosives

    * Loading, unloading and moving supplies and equipment using planes, helicopters, trucks and amphibious vehicles

    * Operating or serving as a crewmember on a combat engineer vehicle, armored vehicle launch bridge or an armored combat earthmover

    * Preparing and installing firing systems for demolition and explosives

    * Locating mines by visual means or by using a mine detector

    *  Directing and assisting in the operation of engineering wheeled or tracked vehicles

    * Determining zero settings and firing the combat engineer vehicle weapon systems

    * Directing the construction of fighting positions and wire entanglements

    * Controlling fire team movements

    * Placing explosives and clearing misfires

    * Conducting reconnaissance operations

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(Goarmy.com)

EOD Techs

(Basic training plus 38 Weeks of AIT)

The handling and storage of ammunition must be carried out very carefully. Ammunition and weapons, also known as 'ordnance' in the Army, are hazardous materials and proper care is required when dealing with them. Ordnance specialists, such as Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams, are responsible for the identification, render safe, and disposal of hazardous unexploded conventional munitions, chemical munitions, nuclear weapons, and Improvised Explosive Devices.

Explosive Ordnance Disposal Specialists are primarily responsible for locating, identifying and disposing of foreign and domestic explosive devices. Some of your duties as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Specialist may include:

    * Supporting VIP missions for the U.S. Secret Service, State Department and other federal agencies

    * Researching and identifying ordnance using explosive ordnance disposal technical publications

    * Detecting the presence of and identifying chemical agents

    * Preparing and maintaining explosive ordnance disposal tools, equipment and vehicles

    * Assisting in the operation of Emergency Contamination Control Stations and Emergency Personnel Decontamination Stations

    * Assisting in locating and gaining access to buried ordnance

    * Assisting the explosive ordnance disposal team leader in performing major duties

    * Defusing unexploded bombs

    * Locating, identifying and disposing of chemical munitions

    * Mitigating the hazards of Weapons of Mass Destruction

    *  Performing radiological monitoring

    * Reading and interpreting X-rays, diagrams, drawings and other technical information on explosive ordnance

    * Conducting formal instruction for Army and civilian audiences

    * Working with and supporting other government agencies

    * Assisting in preparing technical intelligence and incident reports

They are both necessary in the military. However, they do NOT do the same things.