Sailors from Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 6 (EODMU6) hosted more than 30 cadets from the Cary High School Navy Junior ROTC (NJROTC) during a tour of Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Feb. 12.

The visit was part of a field trip to the Hampton Roads area for the cadets to see and experience a small part of Navy life.

During their trip, the cadets visited various surface, air, and expeditionary commands in the mid-Atlantic region.

"It's been a very educational trip for the cadets," said Lt. Col. Wesley Feight, the senior naval science instructor for Cary High School. "They've been able to see all the things we talk about in class and now they have a frame of reference of what they might be able to experience if they decide to join. Not only do they get to walk around the deck of a ship, sit in the cockpit of a helicopter, or see the technology behind explosive ordnance disposal, but they also get to speak to Sailors and get a human perspective on what it's like being in the military."

Upon arriving at EODMU6, the cadets were given a short brief on the process of becoming an enlisted EOD technician or an EOD officer. Following the brief, cadets were given the opportunity to try the Mark 9 EOD bomb suit, operate two types of EOD robots, and experiment with a portable X-ray device.

"Visits like this one let us show potential Sailors a small part of what being an EOD technician is really like," said Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician 2nd Class Keith Ferguson, assigned to EODMU6 platoon 6-1-1. "A lot of people have heard of EOD but few actually know what it is that we do. The ability to share our perspective as EOD technicians while also letting the cadets experience the weight of the bomb suit or understand the challenge of controlling the robots can be extremely beneficial for the cadets if they are considering joining the EOD community."

Following the hands-on demonstration, the cadets thanked the technicians for the opportunity to experience a small part of EOD life.

"This was my first time in the Norfolk area and it has been a great experience," said Sean Hart, a Cary High School junior and NJROTC cadet. "I've had a lot of interest in joining the Navy and this visit has shown me that reading about Navy life is one thing but being able to come here, experience it, and talk to Sailors who live it, is a completely different thing entirely. I am grateful for the opportunity to come here and I feel like any cadet who is considering joining the military should take advantage of an opportunity like this."

EODMU6 is assigned to EOD Group 2, headquartered at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story. EOD Group 2 oversees all East Coast-based Navy EOD mobile units, including one forward deployed mobile unit in Spain, as well as EOD Expeditionary Support Unit (EODESU) 2, EOD Training and Evaluation Unit (EODTEU) 2, and the only East Coast-based mobile diving and salvage unit, MDSU 2.