Ordnance Disposal Reclaims Farmland, Saves Lives

Defend America News ^ | Oct 27, 2005 | Army Staff Sgt. Raymond Drumsta

[SandRat]

U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. David Diceglie, 42nd Infantry Division Artillery, holds some captured enemy ammunition at a cache site. Diceglie was one of a team of U.S. soldiers assigned to Task Force Liberty who supervised the destruction of caches like this one. Photo courtesy of 42nd Infantry Division Artillery

Ordnance Disposal Reclaims Farmland, Saves Lives
Unexploded ordnance in Iraq includes a wide assortment of artillery, rocket and mortar rounds and in some cases, anti-ship cruise missiles.
By U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Raymond Drumsta 42nd Infantry Division Public Affairs FORWARD OPERATING BASE SUMMERALL, BAYJI, Iraq, Oct. 27, 2005 — In Iraq, unexploded ordnance is legion, and legendary among those who deal with it. Supervising the destruction of unexploded ordnance and captured enemy ammunition for Task Force Liberty fell to soldiers like U.S. Army Capt. Christopher Rizzo, of Worcester, Mass., and his team of fellow 42nd Infantry Division Artillery members. Rizzo and U.S. Army Lt. Col. Jose Obregon, executive officer for Division Artillery, described the unexploded ordnance challenge in epic proportions, and cite mind-boggling statistics which speak to its magnitude. "This whole country is an ammo-supply point," said Obregon, who is from New York City. "Everywhere you go, you find all kinds of munitions." "My initial impression was that this was unlike anything we had ever seen," said Rizzo. "We were blowing up 100 to 300 tons every other day, at multiple ammo-supply points." Recently, the 18th Airborne Corps put the tonnage of munitions in Iraq at 410,000 - an estimate, Rizzo said. "We don't know how much ammo is really out there, in the country," he said. "My initial impression was that this was unlike anything we had ever seen. We were blowing up 100 to 300 tons every other day, at multiple ammo-supply points." U.S. Army Capt. Christopher Rizzo Under Saddam Hussein's regime, Iraqi ammo dumps were truly dumps. In one dump, there were nearly 300,000 "loose rounds, lying around," Rizzo said. The array of ordnance includes a wide assortment of artillery, rocket and mortar rounds and in some cases, anti-ship cruise missiles. "They had a wider variety of military ordnance than anywhere in the world," Rizzo said. "They purchased from everyone. The ammo policy of the former regime was measured in tons. Ammo-dump handlers were under the threat of death to make the ammo quota, even if they didn't have a weapon system to fire it." At one site, a warehouse-house sized area was filled with exploded and unexploded small-arms ammunition. "What a mess," said Rizzo, "a carpet of .50 caliber rounds." U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Mike Dyson, mission crew supervisor, 41st Expeditionary Electronic Combat Squadron, makes final checks on an EC-130H Compass Call before a combat sortie from Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Oct. 22, 2005. Dyson, a native of Tacoma, Wash., is deployed here from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. James H. Cunningham	A cache of captured enemy ammunition near Tikrit is destroyed by U.S. soldiers assigned to Task Force Liberty. The safe destruction of ammo caches keeps it out of the hands of insurgents and in some cases, allows Iraqi civilians to reclaim land. Photo courtesy of 42nd Infantry Division Artillery It took a day and a half to "dig" through them to find the lives ones to destroy, he added. Rizzo compared the unexploded ordnance problem in Iraq to the landmine challenge in Bosnia, with the same lack of accountability. "There was no form, fashion or criteria for tracking ammo in this country," Rizzo said. He added that units in Operation Iraqi Freedom 2 cleared large ammo dumps, also known as caches. "Their effectiveness was measured in tons," Rizzo said. Operation Iraqi Freedom 3 picked up where Operation Iraqi Freedom 2 left off. Legendary or not, Task Force Liberty and civilian contractors made a significant dent in the problem. Rizzo said his team was charged with securing, consolidating and destroying unexploded ordnance, which included coordinating the mission's logistical requirements, augmenting civilian security, acting as a liaison with other military units and conducting quality control to verify unexploded ordnance destruction. "As of Sept. 15, 1,055 caches have been destroyed by Task Force Liberty," Rizzo said. "We don't measure in tons. We measure in number of caches destroyed." While not measurable, the effect of unexploded ordnance and captured enemy ammunition disposal is apparent to Rizzo, who cited one instance where the disposal of 1,200 Chinese sub-munitions allowed Iraqis to reclaim the land, and another instance where nearly 30 tons of unexploded ordnance were cleared from Tikrit East Airfield, which borders Iraqi farmland. "Iraqis dig up [unexploded ordnance] in their fields," said Rizzo, adding that Iraqis don't know the difference between live and expended shells, and risk their lives by collecting them for scrap metal. There are environmental hazards as well. "There were no standards for ammo storage," Rizzo said, "so most of the ammo we find isn't suitable for turnover to the Iraqi army, due to exposure to the elements. So it's transported and destroyed." When conventional ammunition like white-phosphorous and high explosive deteriorates from exposure, toxic chemicals leak out of them and contaminate the soil, said Rizzo. "Stuff will never grow there," he said. Destruction of unexploded ordnance also strikes directly at the insurgents, Rizzo said. These are rounds used for [improvised explosive devices] and indirect fire," he said. "What we do is supply reduction. This denies [insurgents] use of this ordnance. We're making it safer for the Iraqi people by getting explosives out of their backyards." Destruction of unexploded ordnance is an ongoing, daily chore, said Obregon. "We're going to be doing this mission for a long time," he said.

[SandRat]

EOD BOOM!

[E.G.C.]

BTTT

[Triggerhippie]

Ping for later...

[Calpernia]

A cache of captured enemy ammunition near Tikrit is destroyed by U.S. soldiers assigned to Task Force Liberty. The safe destruction of ammo caches keeps it out of the hands of insurgents and in some cases, allows Iraqi civilians to reclaim land.

[Joe Brower]

I saw this post and thought of you. $:-)

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[Squantos]

The way we did it was to check for boobtraps,do the intel collection as to type and quanity and any special markings, then turn over to the commercial EOD compaines like UXB International , Zapata Engineering etc for storage at an Ammo Supply Point (ASP) until they could schedule a demolition date.....

The big reason that EOD won't or don't do the demolition themselves everytime these days is the demands for a primary mission of IED's these days. Manpower for DOD EOD teams and even the commercial companies comprised for the most part of former military EOD or at the very least led by former military EOD specialists.

EOD on slow days will still do most of the demo work themselves yet as mentioned above the IED mission is taking a toll on time and personel.

If quanities were small then it was a small demolition or transport by the local EOD team or engineers that responded or found it , they transported the uxo themselves and turned it over to the ammo apes aka BB stackers for further processing.

Entirely possible that if it was in good condition it may even be put back into Iraqi Army stockpiles.....

Thanks for the ping Joe !.....Stay Safe !