Case Study: Navy Explosive Governance Disposal Technicians

During arduous combat operations coinciding with a high OPTEMPO unit cohesion may flux toward a detriment of mission success. This report will focus on the 56TH Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT) in order to address the critical leadership problem. In addition, focus will center on relevant facts and assumptions that led to the critical leadership problem and rectify the issues. Furthermore, a new ABCT vision will be published in order to restructure the organizational culture toward a unified purpose and an increase in esprit de corps. (Verify with lesson for correct purpose)

In 2012, General Dempsey states “Mission Command is fundamentally a learned behavior to be imprinted into the DNA of a profession of arms.” The way Mission Command has evolved through the past years is indicative to the US Military adjusting to a new threat. The concept of Mission Command is not new, what is important is how General Dempsey states “Education in the fundamental principles of mission command must begin at the start of service and be progressively more challenging..” The General emphasizes the need for education at the start of the individual’s service. Additionally, this highlights the United States Army’s doctrinal adjustment to the new threat. During the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the US faced an enemy whose creativity and adaptability are two of its greatest assets. The fast-paced situation changes in both of those AOs required tactical level leadership maintain the autonomy to “exercise disciplined initiative.” This type of initiative historically leads to mission success, specifically in fast-paced situations where a key to success is forcing the enemy to react.

To answer this gap, the Office of Special Warfare (OSW) was developed to be the focal point for USASOC’s UW capability. With this change, each 4th Battalion across the regiment was redesigned to build a build a full spectrum UW capability in support of the Theatre Special Operations Command (TSOC) and Joint Force Commanders. It was during this re-design that the modern Jedburgh was re-born. Much like the World War II era Jedburghs, many skilled operators across the regiment jumped at the opportunity to enter a new phase of conflict and increase their skills in the application of unconventional warfare. With this personal commitment came the understanding that time would be allotted to build a small cohesive team with training and education needed to succeed in complex environment. This theory would soon be diminished because many of the newly selected Jedburghs, riding on the success of Jedburghs some seventy-two years ago, would be thrown straight into complex environment without the needed education and training. Premature operationalization of the Jedburghs has effected training, education, and organizational design needed to build a long lasting unconventional warfare

The command structure in United States Military is vital to the success of missions carried out in or outside the country. The Department of Defense is responsible for overseeing the establishment of command hierarchies that work for specific units. The commands, guidelines, and orders are passed from the highest-ranking personnel to lowest ranking officers who must perform the directive or pass it to subordinates with the same instructions. The principles that establish the command structure in the military evaluates the performance of each command and the officers involved in the various missions. The key principles that affected the execution of Operation Anaconda resulting in mission deficiencies are organizational structure, decision-making, and collaboration.

The Engineer Explosive Ordnance Clearance Agent (EEOCA) was created in 2004 after a technical capabilities gap was identified between Combat Engineers and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Technicians. In order to fill this gap, the EEOCA course was designed to equip more Soldiers in the United States (US) Army with the technical skills to be able to identify ordnance by classification, recognize all hazards and protective measures required, perform safe route clearance operations, and have limited blow in place (BIP) capability with unexploded ordnance (UXO). The skills acquired in the EEOCA course were ultimately intended to facilitate the freedom of maneuver for all US and allied forces.

military’s vast experience in responding to and managing casualties from IED and/or active shooter incidents and from its significant investment in combat casualty care research into the civilian first responder environment” (DHS, First Responder Guide. 2015). In order to improve safety in response to terror events, especially those classified as international terrorism it will require that first responders to further prepare for a vast variety of potential threats. The focus of this increased preparation should not only regard the safe and effective responses of first responders to all potential hazards caused by a terrorist event; but should also include the improvement of first responder’s connections to their communities, the gathering of intelligence, information sharing, and realizing their role in domestic defense of the United States of America.

The department’s leadership is responsible for providing appropriate manpower and resources to each mission using an increasingly tight budget, while also following strict laws for high priority missions, such as nuclear defense, which mandate both high levels of training and manpower (Air Education Training Command, 2015). Additionally, warfare technology has become incredibly advanced. Due to this complication, the educational and technical requirements for military service members and employees are steadily increasing.

The 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB), 82nd Airborne Division Fort Bragg, North Carolina (NC), received orders in early 2010 to deploy to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) 11-12. Our brigade commander was a very maintenance-oriented, analytical forward thinking leader. He decided to implement task force organization for the brigade very early. He based the decision on troops and companies within the brigade fully integrating different aircraft, pilots, maintainers, and support personnel into new organizations. Aviation, in general, remains filled with many different low-density Military Occupational Specialties (MOSs). Certain MOSs work on different aircraft and others work on one type of aircraft specifically. Soldiers, Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs), and Officers would need to fully integrate and understand the unit’s mission and various functions. A Troop, 1st Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment (1-17), with myself as the First Sergeant (1SG), moved hangars and integrated with 1st Battalion, 82nd Attack Helicopter Battalion (AHB), and then again into Task Force (TF) Wolfpack. There were several reasons why A Troop, TF Wolfpack1-82, and 82nd CAB were one of the most successful Brigades during all OEF

The U.S. Navy’s Bomb Squad faced a very real problem: Its newest members were being selected for training upon merit alone, with no personality or physical screening process. This was a very real challenge, for the aforementioned reasons of required emotional intelligence and physical toughness. The screener had a very clear mission: “safely and effectively screen Midshipmen in their ability to lead small units under stress while introducing them to the NEOD training pipeline through evaluation by their peers, upper-class, and NEOD technicians”

I have a comprehensive understanding of the Department of Defense’s vision and direction and long-range plans and emerging technologies that can lead to proper programming and resource allocation. The Strategy of the DoD, DoN, and the USMC relies on the use of innovation and emerging technologies to maintain both a strategic and tactical advantage in the warfighting domain, and as a means of achieving efficiencies in the business domains. The DoD in general and the DoN specifically have in their vision statements and leadership direction that the services will use innovation both as a force multiplier and a means to achieve efficiencies and costs savings. While the various Services and Agencies within the DoD differ in some aspects, there are numerous similarities. They all have the vision and objectives to delivery information to the user to meet the Command and Control and IT needs, even in a contested environment. Generally, the goals within the Department are to consolidate and stabilize the infrastructure, unify communications, manage innovation, build and maintain a strategic workforce, consolidate datacenters leading to improve application portfolio access and management and lastly enhance network operations. I will point out here that I have been materially involved in all aspects of these

In response to the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, the United States strengthened its presence abroad. Sigonella, Italy is the hub for all Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) diving operations. At that time, I was a member of the United States Naval Reserves; I served as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Diver. I was deployed to Sigonella from November 2001-September 2002. There, part of my duties included my service as an EOD diving supervisor. A diving supervisor has the responsibility for protecting all divers, including their safety in the water, transporting them to a call for service or operation, and evaluating, creating, and when necessary, implementing emergency action plans. Upon arrival in Sigonella, I was reviewing the

The organization that I am currently a part of is the Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technicians (NEOD). We are an exceptionally small group of less than 1,500 special operators. As a scalable and agile bomb disposal force, we are trained in a plethora of complex and dangerous tasks ranging from IED to chemical and biological weapon remediation in any type of situation. NEOD can enter a crisis swiftly from the air, under the sea and across land. Post 9/11 global terrorists and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have pushed members of our organization to the breaking point with back-to-back deployments and relentless training. Successfully responding to, and assuming tactical command of thousands of dangerous events every year merely increased

As stewards of our profession, commanders ensure that military expertise continues to develop and be passed on to aspiring professionals through operational development. It is during this developmental phase that Professional Soldiers put their knowledge and skills to the test. Operational Army units certify and recertify their Professional Soldiers through repetitive and realistic training events including the Combat Life Saver Course, platoon live fires, and exercises at the National Training Center. In the course of these challenging and realistic experiences, the Army’s operational units develop Soldiers and leaders prepared to maintain high standards, discipline, and operational readiness. Operational development and adaptability will continue to drive changes in Army doctrine, organization, leadership, and education as we enter the post-war era. Without this kind of development, the Army could not maintain a well-disciplined professional fighting force.

Raven’s Challenge (RC) Interoperability Exercise is an annual, interagency, counter IED exercise that incorporates scenarios focused on interoperability capabilities between public safety bomb squads (PSBSs) and military explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) units in operational environments. The exercise also provides national level leadership an opportunity to monitor events as they unfold and make preemptive decisions to lessen the impacts of a potential IED campaign. The exercise objectives are to exchange tactics, techniques and procedures between Public Safety Bomb Squads (PSBSs) and military Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) elements, enhance team building and liaison between PSBSs and EOD elements, and use of dynamic live fire training

Training of force involves not only the task teams associated with detection and disposal of IED and Suicide Bombs but also the rescue forces who acts during an event of bomb