Question:
how often do EOD soldiers actually lay their hands on an unexploded bomb?
2009-12-10 18:22:38 UTC
i know that they mostly use robots but that's not always the case. im just curious because i saw a bomb squad movie and the main character did alot of hands on work with the bombs and i was just wondering if real eod guys actually do this. thanks in advance.
Five answers:
2009-12-10 18:28:32 UTC
whenever you have to really..and im sure you are talking about the "hurt locker" and even though it was a movie and it was hollywood made it is still pretty realistic.
EOD
2009-12-12 15:23:55 UTC
Hands on unexploded bombs? ALL the time .. and it sucks getting those things up into a backhoe bucket so that you can move them to a consolidation point.



UXO, UXB, IED .. so many acronyms so little time, right? Bombs are pretty easy to deal with and pretty docile depending on the fuze. They're like big whales, many times you just move them where you need them and blow them up. UXO, which is unexploded ordnance in general can be trickier depending on what it is .. mortars, projos, landmines, bombs oh my!



IEDs .. those are your nasty guys. Those are what you saw in the move, sometimes they use conventional ordnance sometimes they don't. Depends on how it's made.



So there, now you have a little background on terminology.



As for hands on on IEDs ..... it really depends. It's more often than you'd think for sure, but less often than say, a really cheesy move about EOD would depict. Also, EOD techs aren't that careless ..... in fact, we're quite methodical in our planning and our decision making. Robots make a world of difference but they aren't the end all be all to EOD, they have limitations and that's why EOD techs still have a job. :)



Hope that gives you a better picture.
?
2009-12-11 22:56:29 UTC
too bloody often unfortunately.



Read a book called "Braver Men Walk Away" by Peter Gurney. His life in EOD and IED with both the British Army and the Metropolitan Police Force. Absolutely fascinating book as well as very funny.



Ray
?
2009-12-11 02:29:58 UTC
They don't use the robots nearly as much as you think, they're there a lot more often than the robot is, plus those things are expensive and if you lose one it takes forever to get a replacement.
2009-12-11 02:28:32 UTC
No, why would they risk it when they have a fail-safe robot to discharge it.


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