Walking on the Tongue of a Dragon

Article by Guest Author: Jack Imber
Author of the book DEMINER available from Amazon

Imagine yourself working on a very dangerous UXO site overseas. There are no safety protocols and no medical evacuation plans in case of an emergency. You find out that you are working under a tourist visa instead of a work visa which happens to be illegal. As work begins the site safety officer quits. You receive no safety briefs concerning the landmines, booby traps, large projectiles and other ordnance items you might encounter in the field. The detector you are given is the cheapest available and to make matters worse some of your team members are sweeping the grids with the machine turned off.

Dug out bunkers are indicating that the area was once a heavily defended battle position. The brush is thick and metal blade brush cutters are brought out to clear the valley. You speak with your team leader about this and many other issues you have regarding this job, one of which is the lack of a trauma kit for each team. He ignores you and brushes off your concerns.

The next day you remember where you last worked with the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) representative. It was at another UXO site in the US with the same company.

[More]

Steel Rain

Article by Guest Author: Jack Imber
Author of the book DEMINER available from Amazon

If life were meant to be easy we could all spend each day swinging in hammocks while occasionally looking for the bottom of a cooler. In reality, quite often we regularly encounter obstacles or problems which test our strengths and challenge our life's purpose.

Perhaps you came into the UXO clean-up industry just looking for an interesting and reasonably paying job. Maybe it seemed to be a logical transition for you from a military life to the civilian world. Regardless of your initial motivation there may have been one particular moment that gave a special meaning to your days of laboring out in the field.

There it was right in front of you---a cluster bomb. You recognize the small ball shape of a BLU-26. You remember it from a project you did at the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant in Parsons, Kansas several years earlier. The vision of how large a blast was created from even a single BLU-26 demolition comes back to your mind. You think of the impact fuze in the center of it and how several small steel shrapnel balls are embedded into the outer aluminum casting. There is no doubt what it is with its' signature fins designed to make it rotate in flight to arm it. This cluster bomb was nearly a thousand miles from where it was manufactured; live and ready to kill. The entire team would soon be notified because cluster bombs are almost never found alone.

[More]

The Cost of Kicking the Can Down the Road

Article by Guest Author: Jack Imber
Author of the book DEMINER available from Amazon

It is not often that a lot of information is available about a particular piece of unexploded ordnance (UXO). In the case of a Mark 15 Hydrogen Bomb lost just off the coast of Savannah, Georgia, there are plenty of details to talk about. Thanks to declassified US government documents, eyewitness accounts and expert interviews, we know what happened and why. We just do not know exactly where the bomb ended up when it was dropped intentionally on the 8th of February 1958.

Just before midnight a loaded B47 bomber had been seriously struck midair by an F86 fighter jet. The fighter pilot safely ejected as his plane spun off helplessly toward South Carolina lands below. With the bombers right wing nearly torn apart, the outboard jet engine dangling precariously and the tail section full of holes the pilot fought shaky controls while contemplating his next crucial move. He knew that he was unable to fly out to the required minimum of 25 miles from land. This was the protocol required to dump such a munition in case of emergency. Instead he decided to jettison his single 7600 pound payload as soon as he could reach the Atlantic Ocean. Options were few as dropping it over land would likely cause detonation. Equally dangerous would be to attempt a landing at an unfinished runway at nearby Hunter Army Airfield. A rough landing there with his crippled air craft would certainly result in the nuke being forced through the fuselage and detonating. The bomb bay doors opened and a bomb 100 times more powerful then Hiroshima dropped into the area known as Wassaw Sound. The pilot then flew back to Hunter and safely landed his aircraft.

Navy EOD scanned the waters south of Tybee Island for ten weeks afterward with no sign of the big bomb. Finally called "irretrievably lost" the search was discontinued.

[More]

Civilian UXO Casualties in the United States

Article by Guest Author: Jack Imber
Author of the book DEMINER available from Amazon

'If you cannot measure it then you cannot improve it' ---Lord Kelvin 1856

On September 30, 2001, a list compiled by the USEPA listed 126 past civilian UXO incidents in the United States. The total number of fatalities and injuries included in the data details available was only 19. In sharp contrast the ATF&E (Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives) had a list of 4,438 UXO events. This number includes multiple casualties but is vague as to detailed information regarding them. While the Joint Services maintain their Explosives Safety Mishap Analysis Module (ESMAM) for the military, the civilian UXO encounters remain under reported and under evaluated.

In order for an accurate assessment of the problems and scope of these situations, an organized information collection system modeled after the Database for Demining Accidents (DDAS) would be most advantageous. The DDAS is an international program of documenting harmful occurrences affecting deminers in the field. These accidents are listed and described revealing specific details and then critically analyzed according to best safe practices. Photos, medical reports and other important data are added as it becomes available. The result is a clear study of each tragedy and a validation for improved methodologies which includes funding considerations. This efficient format leaves few questions unanswered as it improves the overall safety education of everyone who views it.

[More]

Going Forward

Article by Guest Author: Jack Imber
Author of the book DEMINER available from Amazon

For several years stored munitions have been micro-chipped for inventory control during storage and transportation. Scanning entire bunkers, containers, and warehouses have brought a level of accuracy that would have been extremely difficult and very time consuming using the old manual method. The microchips are self-powered with a battery life of approximately five years. They will remain active for the storage phase of ordnance life span but are not durable enough to withstand deployment.

What if ordnance could be tagged with microchips which could withstand the forces and rigors of being dropped, fired, launched, thrown, or placed? If this was a possibility then clearance and land reclamation would become more efficient and thus less time consuming. The unexploded ordnance could be readily found, identified, safely removed and accurately recorded.

[More]

Landmine?

Article by Guest Author: Jack Imber
Author of the book DEMINER available from Amazon

A young EOD soldier who had spent two long tours in Afghanistan had been honorably discharged from the Army. He became a UXO Tech II and was now working on his second clearance project. One day, after working nearly three weeks on a sweep team he yelled out to his team leader, "I think I found a landmine here!"

"Mark the area behind it with a red flag" the team leader shouted back. "Everyone mark your spot on the sweep line, gather your gear and head back to the trucks. I'll check it out when everyone is clear and back at our rally point."

The team quickly and quietly followed their team leader's instructions. He was now all alone on the grid while the rest of the team waited by the trucks. He had already passed off the radio to one of the team members. If anything went wrong the man with the radio would call it in.

[More]

The Green Bucket

Article by Guest Author: Jack Imber
Author of the book DEMINER available from Amazon

Green Bucket Definition: A figure of speech which means to place or put unnatural items into the environment; a form of littering with range debris (RD), munitions debris (MD) or UXO items.

Any problems or bad situations which may occur at various projects nationwide need to be brought up and discussed at the time it is happening. When one or more UXO techs act inappropriately it reflects badly on the whole UXO industry. There is no room in this profession for cutting corners or complacency of any kind. It is the hope that each employee will do their very best on every assignment to maintain a high standard of practice.

[More]

Fun Times

Article by Guest Author: Jack Imber
Author of the book DEMINER available from Amazon

The following stories are true:

FUN WITH SUN

Suddenly the team leader pushed through the sweep line. Everyone froze. They wanted to see what the possible emergency could be. No sound was made by anyone. They were all alone among small patches of vegetation dotting the red Hawaiian dirt.

There it was straight ahead, a flat square object measuring approximately ½ meter by ½ meter. Snatching up the object the team leader could be heard to say "I know what this is. I'm taking it home with me." He turned it over to examine it more closely and the team members could see it was a discarded solar panel. As the sunlight struck the panels a charge zapped the team leader. He had been touching the wire terminals on the underside. Dropping the panel he jumped backwards from the jolt and cried out "What the....." Everyone was looking to see if their team leader was hurt or burned from the shock. He was ok. Then a few laughs could be heard. The entire team joined in and started laughing so hard that some could barely stand. Realizing what he had done he started laughing as he said "Hey if you didn't drop it, don't pick it up!"

FUN WITH PHANTOM FARTS

On a cold Minnesota morning the team leader and one of the crew jumped into the gator (a miniature open pickup truck more like a convertible golf cart) and led the way towards the first grid. The rest of the team followed in the big crew cab pickup truck.

The driver of the pickup truck said, "Hey check this out. I put a battery operated fart sound maker between them in the gator." All of the people in the truck watched with interest as the driver raised a small remote control box that had only one orange button. When the button was depressed the occupants of the pickup watched for any reaction of the two men in the gator. The team leader's head turned towards the driver then looked straight ahead. The driver could also be seen to turn to look at the team leader. The guys in the truck roared with laughter. Luckily the windows were rolled up and they could not be heard. During the next two miles traveling through the forest, the remote control was passed around and everyone got a chance to push the orange button. Each time the men in the gator could be seen taking turns looking at the other after each push of the button. The men in the truck laughed so hard that at times became difficult to catch their breaths.

[More]

Grid Medicine (Homeopathic Solutions)

Article by Guest Author: Jack Imber
Author of the book DEMINER available from Amazon

DISCLAIMER: These homeopathic remedies are suggested to assist the UXO worker when encountering various ailments and conditions in the field. These remedies are not intended to replace the professional advice of a licensed physician especially during times of serious injury sickness, and prolonged discomfort.

Listed below are certain actual situations with a suggested treatment. If at any time the problem becomes worse or has not been resolved in a reasonable time frame seek professional medical advice.

GENERAL ITCHY INSECT BITES: Carry a small bottle of white vinegar and a paper napkin or tissue. Wet the tissue with vinegar and apply to the irritated skin area. Leave on for several minutes. Usually the discomfort diminishes or disappears completely. Keep vinegar away from the eyes. White vinegar has been used for decades to neutralize toxins and organisms from jellyfish stings and scrapes caused by coral. If you have swelling or discoloration especially with tick bites seek medical attention.

EYE IRRITATION: Dry dusty conditions as well as pollen and other irritants can cause very uncomfortable situations for your eyes. Soak two chamomile tea bags in clean water. Tilt your head back and place each tea bag on the eyes. Warm (not hot) works better but normal water temperature will also help soothe the irritation. Definitely seek medical attention if this condition persists or you suspect something may be in your eye.

[More]

In Honor of Grid Gypsies

Article by Guest Author: Jack Imber
Author of the book DEMINER available from Amazon

A large squadron of dragonflies approaches a group of UXO field techs working in a marshy area at a southern military base. One man looks up and seeing them yells "Incoming!" Like tiny attack helicopters the dragonflies begin to wipe out the clouds of biting gnats that everyone calls "wings with teeth".

"Die suckahs!" shouts another man as the one sided battle continues. We all smile, receiving a reprieve from the tiny gnats that no longer are getting into our eyes, ears and up our noses. Perching on our hats and shoulders our winged friends devour their 'gnatty grits' for breakfast.

Metal detectors continue their high pitched squeal as the team moves slowly through a patch of crushed speaker magnets. Bits and pieces of a target vehicle are also found strewn around the area. "More seat springs" a woman says as she places a jangled mass of large gage wire into her bucket.

"Another mortar!" yells someone on the left of the sweep line. "It's a sixty H-E with a P-D fuse".

"Mark it!" shouts the team leader as he prepares to document one of hundreds of mortars and other UXO's found in this five acre area.

[More]


BlogCFC was created by Raymond Camden. This blog is running version 5.5.002.