The 332nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal personnel at Balad AB, Iraq, are performing an on-base mission and an off-base mission, reports Air Force journalist Maj. Richard Sater. On base, they respond to unexploded ordnance on the flightline, perform damage assessments and everything else usually associated with a “traditional” EOD. The off base mission has airmen standing in for soldiers for such tasks as responding to a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device on a main supply route or clearing roads for safe traffic. Oddly, the 332nd’s EOD flight works directly for a Navy unit, which in turn reports to an Army task force.
Trainees in Basic Military Training and technical school no longer have the option to try alternate PT drills if they fail an initial assessment, according to a policy change the Air Force made in April. The move is part of a larger shift out of the classroom and into hands-on,…