I need one of these at home
July 22nd, 2011 | Batteries EOD Logistics Navy Research The greenside | Posted by Bill McMichael
One day, military personnel and civilians alike will enjoy much-simplified electronic lives. Until then, most of us are stuck with a plethora of batteries, connectors and chargers for the electronic devices so vital to our lives. Most, that is, except for Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians, who should soon lose about 41 pounds worth of battery devices thanks to a lightweight power system developed by the Office of Naval Research’s TechSolutions Program.
The group, responding to a request from Explosive Ordnance Disposal Training and Evaluation Unit 2, partnered with Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane, Ind., and Protonex Technology Corp.. to develop the Power Management Kit. Typically, an EOD team carries 50 pounds of battery devices to power its unique gear — a platoon’s worth would fill a four-foot by four-foot table, according to EODTEU 2.
The new PMK contains common military rechargable batteries, a solar-powered blanket, a one-pound Soldier Power Manager unit and “smart” cables to link the SPM with EOD equipment. The SPM charges batteries and powers up gear by harnessing energy from a variety of sources, according to the TechSolutions Program. The PMK also includes a graphical interface that displays information about batteries, power usage, state of charge and operational details.
All of that weighs just nine pounds.
The beauty of the setup is that any new equipment can be supported by simply adding a new cable — so, the SPM itself never needs an upgrade. Currently, most of an EOD team’s gear uses different power sources, so each requires the carrying of multiple single-purpose batteries to power up.
Five units have been shipped to EODTEU 2 for a trial.
Va. Beach NECC unit nabs Sloan Award
February 4th, 2011 | Awards Diving EOD Mobile Diving and Salvage Navy NECC The greenside | Posted by Bill McMichael
The top 20 percent. That’s where Explosive Ordnance Disposal Training and Evaluation Unit 2 now finds itself in terms of public AND private employers in terms of programs, policies and culture for creating an effective and flexible workplace.
EODTEU 2, located in Virginia Beach, Va., received the 2010 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility from Rear Adm. Michael Tillotson, the commander of Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, during an awards ceremony Feb. 4.
“It’s fantastic to be recognized,” said Lt. Cmdr. Oliver Herion, the executive officer of EODTEU 2. “Our team at all levels, officer, enlisted and civil service employees, work hard on the programs that benefit the command and its personnel.”
The Sloan Award recognizes public and private organizations for innovative and effective workplace flexibility practices. Sloan Award judges use a rigorous scoring methodology to determine if an organization ranks in the top 20 percent of the nation’s employers in that regard.
In one example of workplace flexibility, the command recently established an internal college degree program that allows command members to take college classes within its workspaces after-hours and on average, Herion said, “complete an associate’s degree within 18 months.”
Such innovation is essential for EODTEU 2, which provides advanced pre-deployment training to Atlantic Fleet EOD platoons and Mobile Diving and Salvage companies. The unit’s training calendar contains more than 300 days of events, including night shifts and week-long evolutions, according to the command.
To give the unit a breather, the operations department schedules two weeks every July without training.
Sloan Award honorees become part of a national flexibility leadership network representing employers of all sizes and from all sectors to share best practices, exchange ideas and serve as models for other employers and community leaders. Exclusive learning opportunities will be shared with this network throughout the year.
EOD on the front lines
July 23rd, 2010 | EOD Navy NECC | Posted by Gidget Fuentes
On any given day, the Navy’s EOD sailors are deployed in just about every geographical command – and it’s not just Iraq or Afghanistan where explosive ordnance disposal technicians are putting their expertise to save lives and limbs. This week, one-quarter of the nearly-2,600 member EOD force is deployed, according to Navy Expeditionary Combatant Command, with EOD mobile and naval mobile diving and salvage units teams and platoons operating in Southern, Central, European, Africa and Pacific commands. EOD sailors also are participating in the biennial “Rim of the Pacific” exercises off Hawaii, joining in maritime security operations, disarming underwater mines and other explosives and tackling the challenge of command and control at sea and ashore in a more dispersed, joint battle space.
Despite the busy pace of operations and big demands for their expertise in an inherently dangerous business, EOD sailors aren’t fleeing the Navy. Top commanders say retention remains strong in the community. In West Coast-based EOD Group 1, for example, the Navy retained 90 percent of Zone A sailors and 89 percent of Zone B sailors, according to NECC figures. EOD Group 2, based in Virginia, has seen similar rates, a spokesman said. Those rates are 50 percent higher than what the Navy saw in 2008, when Zone A retention ran about 66 percent.
Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 5 sailors wait for a helicopter pickup during a cast-and-recovery training off the aircraft carrier George Washington July 19 in the western Pacific.//Navy/MC3 Adam K. Thomas
“Our retention rates have been very good,” Capt. Dale Fleck, the EOD Group 2 commodore, said in a July 21 teleconference interview with reporters. Sailors “enjoy it. They want to be here. They receive very good training. While the majority of them have had multiple deployments, we have had very good retention rates. It’s very important to actually keep them in the community and give them the experience.”
Sailors realize the critical value of what they bring with their experience, Capt. Ted Lucas, commodore for EOD Group 1, said from San Diego in the media teleconference with Fleck. “Sailors are doing a necessary thing they believe in,” Lucas said. “We are a combat force,” trained to face threats when they deploy and diffuse explosives, improved explosive devices, weapons of mass destruction and underwater mines, he added. “We are a central force (that) enables combat operations and maneuver.”
Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician 2nd Class Nathan Albrich climbs a ladder to an HH-60H Sea Hawk during training July 20 in the western Pacific, with George Washington in the background.//Navy/MC3 Adam K. Thomas
The work is varied, even in places like Iraq, where EOD technicians teach and train Iraqis as the country builds up its local bomb squads. In Iraq and Afghanistan, EOD sailors on a daily basis diffuse or detonate roadside bombs and improvised explosives that are the biggest enemy threat to U.S. and coalition forces. “We are very proactive in making sure we are up with the threats and enemy tactics,” Fleck said. “When we respond to an incident, whether it be an IED that has already been detonated or one that has been found, we perform render-safe and an analysis of the scene and the materials that are involved.” That information and intelligence is quickly shared among the joint forces and incorporated into existing training.
“Our trainers…keep up to speed with everything that is going on in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Lucas said. “They are analyzing all different sources of information.” Sailors “get the most up-to-date training,” he added.
The rise in high-tech robotics isn’t about to push the sailor clear out of the community, the commanders said. “Our most critical asset is our sailor,” Lucas said. “We are a force not really platform-centric. Our sailors are our best asset.” Fleck agreed. “We are not ships and airplanes. The EOD operator is a highly-trained technician and who has skill sets,” he said. Without the human factor, “the mission cannot be performed.”