Meet The Real Hurt Locker

Photo: Kate Holt photographed British bomb experts clearing the path for British troops in Helmand

The Real Hurt Locker: The Heroism Of British Bomb Experts Clearing The Path For Troops In Helmand -- The Daily Mail

Live asked British journalist Kate Holt to photograph British bomb experts clearing the path for British troops in Helmand. After a year waiting for clearance, this is the result: in words and extraordinary pictures shorn of Hollywood gloss, an account of unquestioning heroism in the face of appalling danger

Read more ....

My Comment: An impressive story on who the real heroes are. Read it all.

This Is Not A Job For Me

Staff Sgt Karl Ley, 29, made safe 139 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) planted by the Taliban during a six-month tour of Helmand province in Afghanistan Photo: HEATHCLIFF O'MALLEY

Just A Job, Says Bomb Expert Who Risked Life 139 Times -- The Telegraph

An army explosives expert who has defused more bombs than any other British soldier was awarded the George Medal, the second highest award for bravery.

Staff Sgt Karl Ley, 29, made safe 139 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) planted by the Taliban during a six-month tour of Helmand province in Afghanistan.

According to his medal citation, this was "more than any other operator in history" and more than twice as many as the next most prolific bomb disposal expert.

Read more ....

My Comment: He admits that he has defused 139 bombs .... and what is even more disturbing is that he is keeping count.

The Real Version Of 'Hurt Locker'

The Hurt Locker … Hollywood would have us believe that this man is about to lift 264kg of explosives in one go. Photograph: Everett/Rex

A Version Of Hurt Locker -- Houston Chronicle

Texas Guard unit takes on risks of disabling roadside bombs.

Steven Erb had only two weeks left in his six-month deployment to Afghanistan when a fuel truck reportedly rigged with explosives was discovered on a military base in Kandahar in July 2007.

Erb had to walk to the truck alone, sweating in a claustrophobic 90-pound bomb suit, to search the vehicle and, if necessary, disarm any booby traps. He knew if a bomb went off and ignited the fuel, his heavy protective suit would do little more than keep all his body parts in one place.

Read more ....

Related Articles:

• 162nd EOD helps Iraqi Federal police cut the wire (waronterrornews.typepad.com)
• Beating the IED threat in Helmand (waronterrornews.typepad.com)
• British bomb disposal expert killed in Afghanistan (telegraph.co.uk)
• Taliban bomb chemical seized (thesun.co.uk)
• Fertiliser used to make roadside bombs seized in Afghanistan (telegraph.co.uk)
• An EOD Team Clears IEDs in an Afghanistan Combat Zone (time.com)
• The Real Life Hurt Locker: Battling IEDs in Afghanistan (time.com)
• iRobot cops US Army droid order, aces Q2 results (go.theregister.com)

Hat Tip: Prairie Pundit

The Story Of A Former Iraq Bomb Disposal Officer

Danger: Captain Ivison as he removes two tonnes of anti-tank mines from an oil tanker in Iraq

'Defusing That Bomb Almost Drove Me Mad': The Unimaginable Stress Of A Former Iraq Bomb Disposal Officer -- The Daily Mail

After facing unimaginable stress as a bomb disposal officer in Iraq, KEVIN IVISON spent years fearing he was going insane. Here, in our second extract from his gripping new book, he tells how he gave up the career he loved for the sake of his sanity . . .

'Two fatalities, one secondary.' I had waited my entire career as an Ammunition Technical Officer – a bomb disposal operator – for that phone call on February 28, 2006.

The message meant two comrades had been killed by a bomb and that there was a second improvised explosive device that had not gone off yet.

Read more ....

My Comment: You have to be a bit "mad" to take on such a job in a country that you have no attachment to.

A Pointless Death

Bomb Disposal Expert Killed After Defusing 13 Bombs In 36 Hours -- Times Online

An inquest into the death of a bomb disposal expert decorated for his bravery in Afghanistan has heard that he defused 13 bombs under sporadic enemy fire during the 36 hours leading to his death.

Captain Daniel Shepherd’s inquest follows the broadcast of a BBC One Panorama documentary on Monday in which the Army’s senior bomb disposal officer questioned the numbers of personnel available for Afghanistan and the pressures they faced. Captain Shepherd, 28, from Lincoln, was awarded the George Medal posthumously. He died while defusing a bomb on July 20 last year. The “unbelievably courageous” soldier, from 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment, the Royal Logistic Corps, was killed as he tried to defuse a pressure-plated device, the inquest at the Cathedral Centre in Lincoln heard.

Read more ....

My Comment: This story was emailed to me by one of my readers this weekend. Defusing a bomb every few hours .... what was he and his superiors thinking .... or was he just too tired? They will conduct an inquest, but I suspect that the truth will never be known because the man who really knows is now dead.

Britain's Top Bomb Disposal Officer Resigns In Protest Over Afghan Operations

Army Bomb Chief Quits Amid Fears His Men Are Not Getting Training They Deserve -- The Daily Mail

The Army's top bomb disposal officer has resigned amid fears that his men would be sent to Afghanistan with insufficient training.

Colonel Bob Seddon quit following concerns about the pressure on the military to produce more experts to fight the threat from roadside bombs, it was claimed.

The highly-respected officer was privately worried that he would have to send troops to defuse improvised explosive devices before they were ready.

Read more ....

More News On The Resignation Of Britain's Top Bomb Disposal Officer

The resignation of Britain's senior bomb disposal officer is a wake up call for the Tories -- The Telegraph
Army's bomb disposal chief resigns after saying Afghan mission needs boost -- The Independent
British army's bomb disposal chief quits after speaking of Afghan pressures -- The Guardian
British bomb expert's widow recalls 'he was so tired' -- BBC
Bomb expert's widow queries army Afghan policy -- Reuters
Widow of bomb expert Staff Sergeant Olaf Schmid says fatigue played part in his death -- The Telegraph
Why did bomb disposal expert Col Bob Seddon resign? -- BBC
Bomb diffusers have the most dangerous job -- The Independent
Army decides to detonate rather than dismantle Taliban bombs -- The Independent

This Bomb Disposal Expert's Comfort Zone Is Defusing IEDs

29 year old Staff Sergeant Karl 'Badger' Ley Photo: HEATHCLIFF O'MALLEY

Defusing 139 Taliban Bombs Was Nothing Special, Says British Soldier -- The Telegraph

A British soldier who defused 139 Taliban bombs in six months has described how he survived one of the bloodiest periods in the history of Army bomb disposal.

Staff Sergeant Karl "Badger" Ley worked in temperatures of 122F (50C) defusing improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and braved being targeted by insurgent snipers, while deployed to Helmand.

The 29-year-old bomb disposal expert from Sheffield saved the lives of countless British soldiers and Afghan nationals during a tour of duty in which three of his closest friends were killed and several others were injured by Taliban bombs.

Read more ....

My Comment: This disposal expert's comfort zone is defusing IEDs .... my comfort zone is in front of a computer screen.

Sheessshhh .... I feel like a wimp.

On a more serious note .... many brave soldiers have sacrificed their lives in defusing this weapon of choice for the enemy .... our thought and prayers are with the families and their love ones.

Meet The Men Who Defuse Bombs For A Living

Defusing Bombs With the Real 'Hurt Locker' in Afghanistan -- ABC News

Sgt. First Class Millward Has Been Blown Up Twice and Lost Part of a Leg

Wrapped in purple and pink string, the bomb looked more like a piñata than a deadly weapon, but its contents left no question about its intent and target.

"What you have is probably 40 pounds of ammonium nitrate aluminium mix," said Army Sgt. First Class Christopher Millward shortly after he pulled the bomb out of a mountainside dirt road. "Things of that nature usually target coalition forces."

The chemicals were placed in a water cooler like those filled with lemonade on a hot summer's day. It was the first of two IED's, improvised explosive devices, that Millward would dismantle on a recent Saturday.

Read more ....

My Comment: For more reaction on the movie "Hurt Locker" from the men who defuse bombs for a living, see the bottom video.

Microwaves Could Defuse Bombs From Afar

Photo: An improvised bomb is blown up by an Explosive Ordinance Disposal Special Unit in northern Iraq in late 2005. Bomb disposal is a notoriously dangerous job (Image: Filippo Monteforte / AFP / Getty)

From The New Scientist:

THE next weapon in the US army's arsenal could be a laser-guided microwave blaster designed to destroy explosives.

The weapon, called the Multimode Directed Energy Armament System, uses a high-power laser to ionise the air, creating a plasma channel that acts as a waveguide for the stream of microwaves. The device could destroy the electronic fuse of an explosive device or missile, such as a roadside bomb, or immobilise a vehicle by disabling its ignition system.

Read more ....