Military Officer - July 2006 - (Page 72) DANGER [CONTINUED FROM PAGE 61] Financial Planning Guide The “MOAA Info Exchange” is your most reliable resource for creating a sound financial plan with your military benefits. To order, call toll-free (800) 234-6622 and provide your membership number (located on your magazine’s mailing label) to receive your member discount. Item #1-905 Member Price FREE your nose, it feels like you’re breathing in the same air you just breathed out, and you have protective covers on your hands. You tend to lose IQ points the longer you stay in it.” However, bomb suits are used infrequently in Iraq and Afghanistan, say EOD technicians who have been there. The vast majority of EOD work is accomplished using robots, which allow bomb techs to perform their duties from a safe distance. One time, however, Livingston had to suit up Gray, his team leader, so Gray could place an explosive charge beneath a vehicle-borne IED that could not be reached by robot. Non-Member Price $14.95 THIS AIN’T THE MOVIES Military bomb technicians get little publicity. Much of their work is classified, so the public often has a skewed perception of what they do. “Everyone assumes that we go in and cut wires, like they do in the movies,” laughs Staff Sgt. Daniel Wilson of the Army 704th Ordnance Company (EOD). “They think we’re out there with a pair of pliers wondering, ‘Is it the red one or the blue one?’ But in reality, we rarely get close to a device. We have tools designed to let us do our jobs at a great distance, which greatly increases our chances of survival.” Another misperception is the number of missions EOD technicians see in theater. “The news only shows things like IED strikes against convoys — they don’t show how many are cleared,” says Wilson. “They don’t show all the missed attempts.” During his first deployment to Iraq, Wilson’s team once handled 36 missions in a 36-hour period. “That was a long day,” he says. 74 MILITARY OFFICER J U LY 2 0 0 6
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