Big Bang

Explosive ordnance disposal airmen stationed at Sather AB, Iraq, recently destroyed 13,000 pounds of confiscated Iraqi explosives, one of the larger weapons caches to be collected at one time in Iraq. Four three-person teams assigned to the 447th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron’s EOD Flight brought the cache to a demolition site and destroyed it through controlled detonation. The cache, discovered by Iraqi Army members, included projectiles, rockets, homemade explosive propellant, and other items that could be used to make improvised explosive devices. The Iraqi soldiers notified their American Army counterparts who then contacted the Sather EOD flight. “It was a six-day operation,” said A1C Derrick Torba of the EOD flight. He added: “My team destroyed 3,000 pounds of that cache. The other three teams destroyed the rest.” SSgt. Michael Breive of the flight said he’s handled caches in the past that had high-intelligence value, “but, in terms of explosive weight and number of rounds, this was the biggest.” (Sather report by SMSgt. Trish Freeland)