The joint effort to dispose of the Soviet-era rockets improved information available to explosive ordnance disposal personnel and removed hazards to both troops and Afghan civilians.
U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Sabrina Baker clears a path for U.S. Army soldiers to load three 5,000-pound rockets onto a wrecker near Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Oct. 29, 2005. Baker, a native of Orlando, Fla., is deployed to Bagram from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Marcus McDonald)
By U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Marcus McDonald - 455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Nov. 1, 2005 — U.S. airmen and soldiers joined forces here Oct. 29 to transport and destroy three 5,000-pound rockets.
Lessons learned from this joint operation will help validate explosive ordnance disposal procedures and improve information available to explosive ordnance disposal technicians throughout the Defense Department.
"After more than two months of planning, we teamed up with the Army [explosive ordnance disposal], vehicle maintenance and ammo soldiers to transport the three rockets from a Soviet ammunition supply point to a secure site where they were later destroyed," said U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Dustin Prowell, noncommissioned officer in charge, 455th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron Explosive Ordnance Disposal Flight. Prowell and the rest of his Air Force explosive ordnance disposal team are deployed to Bagram from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz.
If not destroyed, the rockets could have posed a threat to U.S. and coalition forces serving here as part of the ongoing Global War on Terrorism.
"Each of these rockets contained more than 2,000 pounds of propellant, which could have proved deadly to our forces if they found their way into the wrong hands," said Prowell, a native of Roseburg, Ore. "Our job Saturday was to eliminate that threat."
U.S. Army Sgt. William Berry, 23rd Ordnance Company, Miesan, Germany, said his team's interaction with the Air Force always proves beneficial.
"We regularly work alongside our Air Force counterparts to help get whatever job needs to be done in a timely manner," said Berry, a native of Pensacola, Fla. "The best part of our interaction with them is that we can, in support of the ongoing war effort, move and/or dispose of ammunition whenever called upon."
U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Sabrina Baker, explosive ordnance disposal equipment journeyman, said she's enjoying her role in support of the Global War on Terrorism.
"One of the best parts of our job is that it is out of the ordinary," Baker said. "Everyone contributes their piece of the overall puzzle, but our job is distinctly unique. Not many people can say they defuse bombs and blow things up for a living.
"It's rewarding to know that my job directly impacts our U.S. and coalition forces as well as the local community," she continued. "By going out and clearing these hazards, we are helping prevent accidents and improving the area and overall well-being of the people of Afghanistan."
Whether taught in a classroom or on-the-job environment, explosive ordnance disposal technicians here expect the lessons learned from their most recent transport and disposal operations to bring in more big dividends.