PAGE 2 WWW.NORTHWESTNAVIGATOR.COM NORTHWEST NAVIGATOR> WHIDBEY EDITION • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2010

By Dennis ConnollyFor the Navigator

Lt. Michael Hodges is the new Officer-In-Charge of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Detachment Northwest, Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.

As such, he’ll lead a high-ly-skilled group that is on call to respond for any type of ordnance-related issue or incident. Trained to respond to chemical, biological and even nuclear weapons along with other EOD techni-cians, his men locate, iden-tify, neutralize, recover and dispose of sea mines, torpe-does and depth charges as well surface ordnance.

They work with Navy SEALs, Army Special Forces and Marine Expeditionary Units as well as the U.S. Secret Service, U.S.

Department of State, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs

Office, ATF and FBI, plus state and local police bombs squads. They also support the security contingent at large international events like the Vancouver 2010 Olympics and Seattle’s SeaFair.

According to Hodges, for a small group, six to eight men, their responsibility is huge. But their training is intense, lasts for 51 weeks and usually is broken up into five parts.

The EOD Prep Course of

Instruction is three weeks of swimming and exercise. Dive Training is nine weeks learning to scuba dive along with physics, dive medicine and diving equip-ment. During the 42-week Basic EOD School trainees are taught to render safe or defuse specific types of ordnance. Basic Parachute Training teaches the basics of static line parachuting. And EOD Tactical Training covers helicopter insertion, small arms weapons train-ing, small unit tactics and communication.

Hodges said his training went by during a ship-to-shore rotation; dive school, out on a minesweeper, back to EOD school then jump school, then back out to the fleet.

Jump School, especial-ly static line jump school taught by the Army at Fort Benning, Ga., was not Hodges’ favorite.

“They don’t tell you any-thing about the parachute and divers are used to knowing a lot about their gear,î said Hodges. ìThey just gave you the parachute, told you where to hook it up and told you when it was time to jump out of the plane. I was nervous but if

you say youíre not nervous the first time you jump out of an airplane, youíre prob-ably lying.”

Hodges arrived on Whidbey in September after a six-month deployment to Bahrain, where he says the daytime temperature was consistently 130 degrees Fahrenheit.

His team was responsible for all ordnance and con-ducted mine counter mea-sures, clearing the pier or the hull of a ship for explosives when it came into port. The water was dirty with only ìhand in front of your faceî visibility, but most ports are, as silt in the water makes it dirty, he said. One mission was to clear a misfire off a ship.

“We were responsible for all NAVCENT (Central Command) explosive ord-nance disposal operations while in Bahrain,” Hodges said.

Home for Hodges was Alaska where his father was a helicopter pilot. Hodges flew with him often. Hodges loved guns, explosions, outdoors and rappelling, and was an experienced scuba diver before he went to Oregon State. He had wanted to be in the Navy

for awhile and Explosive Ordnance Disposal was his choice. It was a good fit.

Hodges is in charge of a small group of highly trained, physically fit, intelligent and fearless group of men.

Winter makes it a little slow but there are still administrative details to take care of, ammunition to keep track of, personnel to test, send to school, send on leave, physical fitness train-ing and their response to police for ordnance troubles in Oak Harbor.

They’re responsible for any ordnance item found on the bases in Navy Region Northwest. Theyíve been called in to assist the Port of Seattle clear ordnance from the waters near Pier 91. Theyíve responded to a call from a man walking on the beach by Ault Field who found what looked like bombs in the water. EOD Det. NW confirmed that the man was right, they were bombs. Only they were empty. But he didn’t know that and neither did EOD until they examined them.

No one did and Hodges said the man made the right call. Keeping people safe is EOD Det. NWís mission.

New EOD Det NW leader on board

Dennis Connolly

Lt. Michael Hodges kneels near the Talon bomb disposal robot, just one of the tools the EOD Det. NW team uses to respond to calls for explosive ordnance disposal.

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