Motel or Artillery Cache?

Barstow, California Motel guests were evacuated when the manager of a Motel 6 in Barstow found a military-grade explosive in one of the rooms. The UXO was discovered while the room was being cleaned after guests complained of debris inside the room.

U.S. Army EOD at the Fort Irwin National Training Center were called, and the team determined the device was military-grade artillery ordnance and potentially live. The item was deemed too unstable to transport over a long distance, so it was detonated in the nearby open desert.

The Barstow Police Department cleared the area and controlled traffic while the device was destroyed. No injuries were reported.

Munitions Disposal a Huntsville Center Priority as U.S. Units Depart Afghanistan

Article submitted by Ms. Julia Bobick, U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville

As U.S. units prepare to depart Afghanistan, military leaders must determine whether to send their excess munitions home or if it is safer and/or more cost effective to destroy them in country. The Joint Munitions Disposal - Afghanistan (JMD-A) team from the U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, supports those units by disposing of U.S. and NATO Condition Code H unserviceable and "do-not-return" munitions, as well as captured enemy munitions and explosive remnants of war (ERW).

"Some of the munitions have been out at forward locations for more than 10 years; a lot of times they've been in open storage exposed to the elements or have been rucked around on patrol by the troops," said Chase Hamley, JMD-A project manager in Huntsville Center's Ordnance and Explosives Directorate (OE) International Operations (IO) Division. "Things happen along the way that makes them unserviceable. In addition, there are a lot of situations where shipping the munitions back to the U.S. costs more than the items do in new condition."

More than 3,575 tons of ammunition have been destroyed in Afghanistan to date as a result of U.S. military forces moving in and out of the country, according to Bob Britton, JMD-A lead program manager in the IO Division.

It is the military leaders and their staffs who identify what munitions are to be disposed of, said Hamley, adding that the list of excess and do-not-return munitions is consolidated and maintained at the Pentagon level. The JMD-A team coordinates disposal efforts with the military units and manages the munitions disposal contract with Sterling Global Operations Inc., headquartered in Lenoir City, Tenn., which specializes in demining, clearance of explosive remnants of war and management of ammunition physical security and stockpiles.

The contractor receives the ordnance from the military units at a designated ammunition point and logs all munitions received not only in its database but also in the military's tracking system. Once the contractor constructs demolition "shots" out of the items they've received, Hamley said military and contract employees execute the movement to a range and conduct the demolition operation - such as open burning or detonation - according to the type of munitions.

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70-Year-Old Munitions Found at Sight of Plane Crash

Russell, Kansas The 22nd Civil Engineer Squadron EOD Team from McConnell Air Force Base was called in to identify and dispose of a rusted Browning M2 machine gun that was found in a farmer's field along with a belt of rusted 50-caliber rounds.

The parts came from a B-29 which crashed during a training mission near the town nearly 70 years ago. The team disposed of the ammunition and left the M2 machine gun with the university personnel that discovered it after insuring it was safe.

The items were found along with numerous other B-29 parts from the crash.

Cleaning Out Closets Could Be a "Blast"

Havre de Grace, Maryland EOD from Aberdeen Proving Grounds were called in to examine several ordnance items found in a closet of a local VFW post.

Post members cleaning out one closet found an 81-mm, a 126-mm and a 105-mm round. The munitions were brought to the Havre de Grace Police Department where they were determined to be inert and were removed for disposal.

Suspect WWII Mine Destroyed off Australian Coast

South Tarawa, Australia Clearance divers from the Royal Australian Navy have safely disposed of a suspect item found beneath a sunken vessel off the coast of the Pacific island nation. It was believed to be a WWII sea mine and was uncovered by commercial operators sent to salvage the vessel.

The divers and a support team flew to the island nation last week upon request for assistance from the Kiribati Government. Though the item could not be positively identified, officials thought it wise to dispose of the object, located at a site of an intense WWII battle where thousands of military personnel were killed or wounded.

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EOD Specialist's Death Likely Linked to Friendly Fire

Beaver, Ohio Justin Helton, 25, of Southeast Ohio was tragically killed in Afghanistan while serving as an Army EOD specialist. He was one of five American service members killed in what has been described as the worst friendly fire accident in the 14-year history of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Helton served in the Army for four and a half years and had been in Afghanistan for two months, according to family members. This was his first deployment and was expected to last about six months.

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Road Closed After Munitions Find

Honolulu, Hawaii Police had to close the east- and west-bound off-ramps leading to Fort Shafter after a contractor discovered a munition item near the front gate. The responding EOD unit determined that the projectile was inert and removed it from the area before the roadways were re-opened. A surface sweep of the general area did not reveal any other munitions in the area.

WWII Era German Munition Unearthed in Garden

Axminster, East Devon, United Kingdom A team from the Plymouth Royal Navy Bomb Disposal Team in Davenport responded to the scene after a homeowner unearthed a WWII era German munition while gardening.

Police blocked off a major road, evacuated six homes, and setup a 200 meter exclusion area around the property where the device was found as a safety precaution. The munition, shown below, was safely removed from the area for proper disposal.


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