Soldiers Train With Civilian Bomb Squads

ONTARIO, Calif. - U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians trained together with other bomb squad members at the Ontario International Airport during Operation All American.

Soldiers from the Fort Irwin, California-based 759th Ordnance Company trained with the Transportation Security Administration, Ontario Fire Department, San Bernardino Sheriff's Department and Riverside Sheriff's Department during the exercise.

The 759th EOD Company "Detonators" are part of the 3rd EOD Battalion, 71st EOD Group and 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command, the U.S. military's premier multifunctional and deployable CBRNE formation.

Capt. Alexander K. Olson, the commander of the 759th EOD Company, said his EOD techs honed their lifesaving skills together with the other bomb squad personnel.

"We received feedback on different tools and equipment they might use in similar scenarios," said Olson, adding that the exercise was part of an ongoing series of training events with other bomb squads. "The next events will host bomb squads from the ATF and FBI."

Olson said the EOD training scenarios during Operation All American focused on safely responding to an improvised explosive device discovered on aircraft.

"The training was extremely realistic. It's hard to beat running EOD problems in an airworthy Boeing 737," said Olson. "The best thing about events like these is the shared knowledge from different organizations. It enables better training within our company to prepare for our homeland response missions."

A native of Bloomington, Indiana, Olson graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a bachelor's degree in economics in 2018.

His most memorable EOD response was when he was stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado, and had to drive to Aspen, Colorado, to pick up and dispose of a World War I antitank projectile.

Olson said his EOD technicians cover a wide variety of missions in support of maneuver forces and domestic authorities.

As the U.S. Army explosives experts, EOD technicians solve dangerous and complex explosive problems every day. Not only do they defeat dangerous devices during operations but they also render safe unexploded ordnance, on and off post

Army EOD Soldiers serve with joint, interagency and multinational partners around the world. On a regular basis, these elite Army units also conduct missions to protect the president, vice president and their families as well as foreign heads of state and they train allied forces in demolition, minefield clearance and explosive safety.

In addition to supporting training rotations at the National Training Center, a Mojave Desert training center that is almost as big as the state of Rhode Island, EOD techs from the 759th EOD Company also support civil authorities in 89 counties across California, Nevada and Arizona.

Olson said his EOD techs often train with other bomb squads across Southern California.

"We try to send enough personnel to maximize shared expertise for implementation of lessons learned in our internal training while ensuring little to no interruption in competing requirements," said Olson, adding that Fort Irwin, California, is a one-of-a-kind assignment.

"There are opportunities just two hours away for great training like this in two major cities - Los Angeles and Las Vegas - as well as recreational activities to suit anyone while you are off duty. There's no other duty station like it," said Olson. "With the National Training Center, the opportunities to provide EOD support to combat brigades throughout the Army develops a level of expertise not available at other assignments."

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From 19 bases in 16 states, Soldiers and U.S. Army civilians from the 20th CBRNE Command confront and defeat the world's most dangerous hazards in support of joint, interagency and multinational operations.

Headquartered on Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, the 20th CBRNE Command is home to 75 percent of the active-duty U.S. Army's Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) specialists and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technicians, as well as the 1st Area Medical Laboratory, CBRNE Analytical and Remediation Activity, Weapons of Mass Destruction Coordination Teams and Nuclear Disablement Teams (Infrastructure).

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