Skilled in the delicate, dangerous art of bomb disposal, explosive ordnance disposal airmen—active duty and reserve—also conduct combat forensic post blast analysis. “The purpose of the mission is to identify bomb makers and scene analysis,” Reserve MSgt. Jeff Sursely, with Air Force Reserve Command’s 446th Civil Engineer Squadron at McChord AFB, Wash., told Air Force journalist Capt. Jennifer Gerhardt. Sursely, who is one of several EOD airmen who have sustained injuries from bombs in Iraq, went on, “As EOD technicians, we recognize signatures of bomb makers, which can help in targeting the bomb maker network.”
The Air Force on March 12 awarded contract modifications worth a combined $2.4 billion to Boeing to procure an undisclosed number of E-7 Wedgetail as part of the program's engineering and manufacturing development phase and continue work on the airborne battle management aircraft’s radar.