Ocean City, Maryland The Ocean City Fire Marshal's Office provides yearly UXO awareness training for lifeguards to prepare them for explosives emergency situations. Although UXO discoveries in Ocean City are rare, several former ranges including Assateague Island, a former rocket and bombing range near Ocean City have resulted in UXO finds over the years.

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The challenges of developing effective and expedient protective works for the detonation of UXO faced by the EX-PAT EOD contractor technician in situations where safe separation distances from critical infrastructure are not an option can be met using methods more expeditious than those tended to with simply applying an adequate amount of dirt.

Dirt, soil, sand, while extremely effective in dampening the effects of a detonation and almost always available; require time and manpower resources to transport and place. Situations that today's EX-PAT EOD contractor may find themselves immersed in can require employing tactical as well as technical considerations focused toward minimizing time on scene. Developing alternatives to minimize the time required to construct hasty yet effective expedient protective works in these situations would seem to be of a paramount consideration. Concerning the development of alternatives to sandbags alone protective works constructions I have experimented with automotive tires as one such alternative.

In no way do I imply that I am an innovator by breaking new horizons through employing tires in a protective works construction. Automotive tires were, more than likely, used previously for this purpose was my initial thought. With this in mind; prior to attempting to incorporate tires into protective works training scenarios; the collective knowledge held by members of the Fragweb Forum was tapped for any previous experiences members had that they were willing to share concerning incorporating tires into a protective works application.

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Augusta, Kansas Two hunters discovered suspicious white packages in a field near a road and notified the Butler County Sheriff's Office to investigate. The Sheriff's office responded and identified the contents of the packages as dynamite reportedly stolen from the Martin Marietta Materials rock quarry back in September of 2008. The Wichita BATF office that originally investigated the theft back in 2008 reported that the thieves were unable to break into the storage magazine that held the blasting caps required to initiate the explosives. The investigation has been renewed and the ATF is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons who stole the explosives.

Tuscola, Illinois University of Illinois police reported to a call of a missing elderly man who neighbors claimed had not been seen for days. Police knocked on the man's front door but did not get a answer. Upon investigating the residence, police were able to enter the home through a door in the back of the house. Inside the home, the police found the dead body of 70-year old resident. He reportedly died of a hear attack related to complications from diabetes.

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Fort Lee, Virginia Military police were called to the Hideaway Club, a gathering area used for concerts and special events, when a hand grenade was found. The military police called the Air Force EOD unit from Langley (the closest EOD unit) for technical support. EOD responded and re-located the grenade, identified as a Vietnam-era hand grenade, to the range areas where it was safely disposed of.

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Fort Hood, Texas An Army helicopter accidentally dropped an inert training missile onto a residential neighborhood causing an evacuation of nearby homes. A witness reported seeing the missile fall from the helicopter and implanting into the ground. The police were called and as a safety precaution, approximately 100 homes were evacuated while military ordnance personnel investigated the missile. It was quickly determined that the missile did not contain a warhead or a propulsion system. The missile was removed from the area and the residents were allowed to return to their homes within an hour after the missile was reported.

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Afghanistan Army EOD Staff Sgt. Israel Nuanes, 38, of Las Cruces, New Mexico was killed in Kandahar Province from injuries suffered during an IED blast. Nuanes was assigned to 741st Ordnance Company, out of Fort Bliss, part of the 84th Ordnance Battalion, 71st Ordnance Group.

Afghanistan Army EOD Staff Sergeant Zachary Hargrove of Wichita, Kansas died from what was reported as a non-combat related incident. The Army has not released any details surrounding the incident pending an investigation. Hargrove was 32 years old and assigned to the 84th EOD, 1st Sustainment Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas. He was on his 4th combat deployment to Iraq.

Afghanistan Sgt J.P. Huling, a 25-year old Marine EOD Technician was killed in an ambush while on foot patrol in Anwar Province. His attacker was reportedly a Taliban militant dressed as an Afghanistan military policeman. Huling was flown to the hospital after being shot in the chest but later died from the injuries. Huling was from West Chester, Ohio but lived in California with his wife. He was assigned to the 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, from Camp Pendleton.