Marine Corps EOD making Peleliu safer one bomb at a time

[rangerrebew]

Marine Corps EOD making Peleliu safer one bomb at a time

DoD News Service | October 12, 2021

With its calming waters slowly climbing and descending the warm sands of the island, Peleliu in the Republic of Palau, could be considered the ideal tropical paradise.

White sands, blue waters and dense vegetation cover the remnants of a war long past, but not forgotten with relics of battles covering the island from its highest forested point to its lowest reef. Yet, among these remnants lied a threat that has posed a risk to the people of Peleliu for more than 75 years – that was until a La Quinta, California, native and U.S. Marine with Task Force Koa Moana 21 arrived.

On Sept. 23, U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Sebastian Villagomez, an explosive ordnance disposal Marine from Task Force Koa Moana 21, I Marine Expeditionary Force, and a team of U.S. Marines safely detonated 11 pieces of unexploded ordnance found across Peleliu in an effort to make the island safer for the approximately 700 people who call Peleliu home.

https://www.sandboxx.us/blog/marine-corps-eod-making-peleliu-safer-one-bomb-at-a-time/

[sneakypete]

A hand salute in respect for those brave men and the job they perform.

Disarming modern ordinance is no big deal,but disarming ordinance that has been sitting around for decades is a delicate and dangerous task,to say the least.

And "Yes,I DO understand they almost always just blow them in place",but you have to handle them and dig around them to plant the charge that sets them off,and sometimes just an accidental nudge will cause a blast.

Hell,sometimes they just go off all by themselves for no apparant reason.

[skeeter]

Never thought of Peleliu as the 'ideal tropical paradise'. From what I've read its mostly swamp and green covered coral rock. And friggen hot.

[sneakypete]

Never thought of Peleliu as the 'ideal tropical paradise'. From what I've read its mostly swamp and green covered coral rock. And friggen hot.

@skeeter

Well,"glamming it up" is one of the things the press is hired to do. The plain fact is the US is responsible for placing those munitions there,so the US is responsible for removing them.

Plus,it is EXCELLENT training for the USMC demo guys.

[GtHawk]

A hand salute in respect for those brave men and the job they perform.

Disarming modern ordinance is no big deal,but disarming ordinance that has been sitting around for decades is a delicate and dangerous task,to say the least.

And "Yes,I DO understand they almost always just blow them in place",but you have to handle them and dig around them to plant the charge that sets them off,and sometimes just an accidental nudge will cause a blast.

Hell,sometimes they just go off all by themselves for no apparant reason.

I'm sure you remember the show Danger UXB, I thought it gave a great insight into those that deal with unexploded ordinance, even if it was about Brits.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llW1o-W3G5Y&ab_channel=LouishWaltz

[sneakypete]

I'm sure you remember the show Danger UXB, I thought it gave a great insight into those that deal with unexploded ordinance, even if it was about Brits.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llW1o-W3G5Y&ab_channel=LouishWaltz

@GtHawk

GREAT show,still available on Brit Box,as far as I know.

If there was anyone that gained knowledge of how to handle unexploded ordinance,it was the bomb guys in England during WW-2.