Click the banner above to view the November 2019 edition of the UXO E-Newsletter brought to you by Ordnance Holdings, Inc. (OHI).

Fort Hood, Texas EOD from Fort Hood were called in to dispose of a mortar round that was brought in to the B6UP Pawn & Gun store for appraisal. The patron was unaware that the ordnance was live, according to reports.

According to the pawn shop owner, it was in a canister labelled "60 millimeter M50 mortar." Army personnel responded to remove the ordnance. It was then taken to a safe location for detonation.

West Sussex, England The Selsey Coastguard Rescue Team was called to a West Sussex beach to reports of a suspect hand grenade discovered by someone with a metal detector. Sussex Police also responded to fill sandbags to protect the device protect from the incoming tide.

Unfortunately, EOD were unable to arrive before the tide covered it. After waiting for low tide, EOD arrived on the scene and confirmed the UXO to be a WWI era hand grenade. It was safely removed for disposal.

Aberdeen, South Dakota Aberdeen Police were performing a welfare check on an elderly man when they discovered 3.5 inch M28A2 anti-tank heat rocket. Apparently the man brought the munition home as a memento after serving in the Korean War.

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Gotha, Germany A small group of kids magnet fishing in a pond pulled up a small cache of munitions before they realized the potential dangers of their find. They called the police to report the find. Authorities quickly secured the area as they called in a bomb squad to remove the WWII era munitions.

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Fairfield, California Police were called to reports of a hand grenade behind a 99 Cent Only store along the 600 block of Beck Avenue near Cadenasso Drive. The store was evacuated as police inspected the item. After confirming it was a military grenade, the police called an EOD team from Travis Air Force Base for technical support. EOD responded and safely removed the grenade for proper disposal (specific type or condition not reported).

Authorities are conducting an investigation to attempt to find out how the grenade ended up behind the store.

On this Veterans Day, please remember to thank a Veteran for the sacrifices they made in support of our great country. We especially like to thank all those who have served or are serving in EOD as it takes a unique and brave individual to accept the mission of defeating IEDs and disposing of explosive threats.

Please also keep the families most touched and impacted by the risks faced by EOD in your thoughts and prayers as you reflect back on this Veteran's Day.

In the words of late President Ronald Reagan - "We remember those who were called upon to give all a person can give, and we remember those who were prepared to make that sacrifice if it were demanded of them in the line of duty."

Vienna, Austria A pre-school had to evacuated after a WW II hand grenade was found inside a tree at the school's playground. A worker at the school was the first to discover the grenade which was wedged in a tree in a garden on school grounds.

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How the Schonstedt Humanitarian Demining Initiative is Helping to Save Lives Worldwide:

Kearneysville, West Virginia In collaboration with the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), four Magnetic Locators from Schonstedt Instrument Company have deployed to Somalia, approximately 6 miles north of the nation's capital, Mogadishu, to locate explosive remnants of war (ERW).

About the Site:

The Daynile district, located in the Banaadir region of Somalia, encompasses the northern outskirts of the nation's capital, Mogadishu. Approximately 6 miles north of the central part of Mogadishu also lies a former ammunition storage site.

At the site, most ammunition bunkers were destroyed, and some of them collapsed inward, leaving approximately 98 acres of land (400,000 m2) contaminated with explosive hazards. Located near an airstrip, the site may also become a relocation site for Internally Displaced Persons.

Initial clearance operations cleared more than 20,300 ERW, but additional ERW likely remain buried beneath the collapsed bunkers and surrounding areas. With UNMAS-supported demining teams conducting further clearance operations, Schonstedt GA-72Cd Magnetic Locators will aid in the detection and clearance of remaining ERW and other UXO (Unexploded Ordnance).

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Mexico Beach, Florida Tyndall Air Force Base EOD responded to the Mexico Beach, Port St. Joe area for a corroded cluster of suspect WWII-era ordnance that washed ashore. The items were heavily corroded and an attempted demolition / disposal had to be rescheduled when the initial detonation failed due to the rising high tide.