Future of EOD techs after Afghan war unknown - Marine Corps News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Marine Corps Times

Future of EOD techs after Afghan war unknown

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — With roadside bombs still a top threat to Marines downrange, explosive ordnance disposal techs are in heavy demand, and they continue to experience one of the Corps’ highest operational tempos, spending less time at home between deployments compared with other units.

There are nearly 750 active-duty EOD Marines, up considerably from 120 at the start of the Iraq war in 2003. That growth has been fueled by sizeable re-enlistment bonuses aimed at encouraging seasoned EOD techs to stay and enticing other Marines to move into the military occupational specialty.

But with a comprehensive force structure review underway, Commandant Gen. Jim Amos wants to determine what the Corps’ future EOD requirements will be, he said during a recent media roundtable in San Diego.

“We will need EOD personnel, but how many?” Amos said. “Is it 750? Is it some number less than that? Probably more than 120.”

One option being considered, he said, would shift some of that capability to the Reserve. There, EOD techs would maintain their skills and stand ready to augment active forces should the need arise.

Amos said the question then becomes: “How much of that do we want to put into the reserves so we can call them up when we need to?”

In the near term, recruiting and retaining EOD Marines remains central to the Corps’ war effort. Re-enlistment bonuses for the 2336 MOS are among the service’s highest for 2011, with first-term sergeants eligible for $43,500. And, as Amos signaled in his recently released planning guidance, he is committed to filling out low-density MOSs such as EOD to meet commanders’ needs and provide Marines more rest between combat deployments.

“It is a stressed MOS, no question about it,” Maj. Gen. Richard Mills, commander of I Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) and Regional Command Southwest in Afghanistan, said Nov. 10 during a video teleconference. “… They are short, and they do suffer an inordinate number of casualties. … You can always use more.”

Dangerous job

Two EOD techs were killed recently by roadside bombs in Afghanistan’s Helmand province. Staff Sgt. Joshua J. Cullins, 28, died Oct. 27, and Staff Sgt. Jordan B. Emrick, 26, died Nov. 5. Both were members of 1st EOD Company, 7th Engineer Support Battalion, from Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Mills said his forces are encountering more improvised explosives made from homemade parts that can evade mechanical systems Marines use to find them.

“Some of the IEDs are tough. They have low metallic signatures,” he said, noting that units also are encountering bigger IEDs targeted at larger vehicles.

It’s a challenge that “keeps me up at night,” he said.

EOD techs are just one part of a broader defeat-the-IED initiative that includes mechanical detectors, electronic countermeasures, bomb-sniffing dogs and “Combat Hunter” training that teaches Marines to spot IEDs and other threats.

“The counter-IED dogs are extraordinarily effective. The Marines like them. It gives them a sense of confidence,” Mills said.

Marines in Helmand province have asked to boost the number of their Labrador retrievers from 300 to 647. That expansion is underway, Amos said.