Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 6, currently embarked aboard aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) (Ike), returned from Camp Beuhring in Udairi, Kuwait, after completing specialized sustainment training, Oct. 25-31.

Camp Beuhring serves as a staging ground for support activities and ground forces stationed there.

"We run the shipboard drills so often we could do them with our eyes closed," said Lt. Eric Thompson, EODMU 6 Platoon 622's officer-in-charge. "This provides us a chance to get realistic, hands-on training for real-world scenarios."

In addition to demolition training, the Sailors were able to drill on scenarios involving dismounted operations, where EOD technicians encounter caches of ordnance while on foot, mounted operations which require them to stay in their vehicles and use EOD robots to disarm the threat, and a day to practice maneuvering the robots through an obstacle course -- all of which cannot be replicated aboard Ike.

"The training was a great success and I couldn't have asked for more," said Chief Petty Officer Wes Holbrook, a member of the EODMU 6 team. "All of our skill sets are perishable, so we have to keep them to use them effectively. When you are out there neutralizing a threat you don't have the luxury of time, so you have to be perfect. We can never let our skills stagnate."

In addition to being more comfortable with the conditions of the area of operations, the Sailors worked closely with the U.S. Army's 741st Explosive Ordnance Company in order to improve integration of Navy and Army defense efforts.

"We make a point of training between branches because it provides us with a different perspective," Thompson said. "We each bring a different view of the same skills, and when we work together it's easier for us to integrate in a real-world scenario."

EODMU 6 personnel are responsible for analyzing and handling foreign, domestic, and homemade explosives in order to render them safe and dispose of the explosive material.

Ike, embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 3, and Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group (Ike CSG) are deployed in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, maritime security operations, and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations.

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