Getting a Bang for the Buck

Known for their live-saving work in Afghanistan and Iraq, Air Force explosive ordnance disposal specialists came to the help of local law enforcement on the home front this week. Four members of the 4th Fighter Wing’s EOD flight at Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C., sprang into action on Monday when civil authorities found a pipe bomb along an east-west highway near the base. “Had it gone off next to someone, it could have potentially killed them,” said MSgt. Christopher Wakham of the EOD team. As local law enforcement diverted traffic, these airmen guided a camera-carrying robot to the device, which appeared to be homemade, to get a close-up look. Once they confirmed it was a pipe bomb, they neutralized it—but did not detonate it as some media outlets inaccurately reported. Federal authorities are now investigating this case. (Wright Times report by Kenneth Fine)