Newport Pagnell, England A 37-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of stealing from protected heritage sites after police recovered WWI and WWII munitions from his home. The arrest, which was the third such arrest in a week, came in connection with an ongoing investigation of UXO items being removed from heritage sites such as battlefields in the United Kingdom and abroad.

Early reports indicate that thieves have been removing the artifacts from sites in France and Belgium and returning them to the UK. The danger involved in excavating the munitions and transporting them is not only an issue for the thieves, but for the communities in which they are traveling with the UXO as well.

Often items are removed as collectibles, but there is a black-market for the items. Controlled explosions were carried out at the semi-detached home, which had been sealed off by police during their search.

Richmond, Virginia Richmond National Battlefield Park volunteers clearing brush along a trail within the former Fort Gilmer uncovered a Civil War era cannon ball. Per the park's live ordnance policy, the park contacted the County of Henrico Police Bomb Disposal Team, which responded. A 500-foot safety perimeter was established and the shell was safely removed by the bomb squad and destroyed at the county's firing range. The bomb squad identified the munition as a Civil War era 12-pound cannon ball.

The shell was discovered just days before the park's commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the battles of New Market Heights and Fort Harrison, which includes action at Fort Gilmer.

Rock Island, Illinois Streets were closed and a bomb squad summoned to respond to the scene where a construction crew found an item believed to be UXO at the Rock Island Arsenal.

The local Quad City Bomb Squad was called in to inspect and remove the item. The exact type of munition involved and its condition were not reported. The bomb squad safely removed the item for off-site disposal.

Middle Township, New Jersey The bomb squad responded and evacuated several buildings and homes after a resident walked in to the Middle Township Police Department in Cape May County with military ordnance.

The woman entered the station and reported that her son had found the munition while fishing. The device was removed from the building and the bomb squad was called in to respond.

The Atlantic City Police Department's Bomb Squad responded and identified the item as a WWII-era marine marker. Because it lacked an active fuzing mechanism, the bomb disposal technicians deemed it safe to transport for disposal.

Article submitted by Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for posting.

The Military Munitions Support Services webinar series hosted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continued to enjoy tremendous support and success in FY14, with approximately 1,428 participants tuning in to the six webinars conducted during the year. Participants included representatives from DOD, other Federal agencies, State regulators, industry, interested stakeholders, academia, and international attendees.

USACE plans to host four M2S2 webinars in FY15 but in order to do so, your assistance is needed. The webinars are only as good as the topics and speakers which comprise them and we want to continue to provide the very best webinar sessions possible. In order to do that, we are requesting presentation abstracts from across the M2S2 community, including Federal agencies, industry, State regulators, and all other stakeholders. Our objective for the M2S2 webinars is to share knowledge, technologies, best practices, and lessons learned across the spectrum of munitions response activities.

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Groix , France A 26-year-old camper was killed by an explosion believed to have been caused by a WWII UXO that had washed ashore on the French island of Groix off the coast of Brittany. The man died after a blast near a campfire while on vacation with nine other friends, one of whom was seriously injured in the blast.

Authorities investigating the incident suspect that the tide washed the UXO ashore as munitions debris reportedly found in the area. The exact cause of the detonation was unknown at this time.

Over the past 13 years, every member of the EOD Family has experienced or seen the sacrifices, consequences and cost of war. While the EOD community has faced tremendous loss, hardship and obstacles, the indivisible bond of the EOD Family remains unbroken, supported by the strength, resilience and commitment of EOD technicians, spouses, families and friends.

The EOD Warrior Foundation (EODWF) remains steadfast in their mission to serve our nation's elite warriors and their families. Now they need your help to serve our nation's EOD service members, veterans and their families; to disarm the ongoing challenges and to honor and preserve the legacy of our fallen EOD warriors.

EODWF has launched the EOD Community Challenge, from September 8 --. November 17, 2014 to raise funds for the Foundation and awareness about the service and needs of the EOD Family. Their goal is to raise $350,000 in ten weeks. You can take part in this Challenge by becoming a fundraiser as an individual or as a team. If 350 people reach their goal of $1000 each, they will achieve this goal.

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Seelze, Germany Some 14,000 people were awakened by police in the middle of the night to demands to evacuate their homes after a potentially dangerous WWII bomb was discovered in the town of Seelze, near Hannover.

The massive 4,000-pound British bomb was considered so dangerous that officials ordered the evacuation, stopped rail traffic in the area, and closed a nearby canal to shipping. Residents were sent to emergency shelters. Three nursing homes had to be evacuated by ambulance.

Residents who refused to leave immediately caused a four hour delay before a bomb disposal team could remove the three detonators on the device and safely defuse the munition.