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Show HILL TOP TIMES Page 10 ' ' I y 7 November 16, 1979 f 4 " , s cioomis oft oiyif, r blows M yp IS" Cleaning the scrap metal out of a field and occasionally making various objects blow up hardly seems like an occupation for a group of adults, but that's the full time job of the 48 S A7C Mark Rlpke waded through knee deep brush to an find army illumination round. (U.S. Air Force photo by Mo. Bob Jurek) members of the 2701st Explosive Ordnance Disposal Squadron. The only squadron of its kind in the Air Force (the other EOD units are detachments), the 2701st is responsiblefor the clearing of more than one million acres of bombing ranges across the United States, including the Utah Test and Training Range and the portions of Dugway Proving Grounds the Air Force uses. The only way to find ordnance left from ground testing or aircraft training flights is by visual search. In the thick brush of the Air National Guard bombing range located on part of the army's artillery impact zone at Fort Drum, N.Y. where the 2701st most the visual search recently worked TDY meant almost crawling through the tall grass and bushes to locate 25 pound practice bombs, 20 millimeter aircraft ammunition, 40 millimeter or small grenades, Mark 106 practice bombs nicknamed the "beer can," and even 250 pound bombs. The ordnance is removed to prevent ricochet accidents when aircraft come in on strafing runs. New shells striking old pieces of artillery could cause the shrapnel to bounce f - - Ate? " Army Illumination round Is blown In place to prevent any unexpected detonation from moving It to the burn pile. (U.S. Air Force photo by Ma. Sob Jurek) 4 9 .''t;s?'';''''A'i$ rft" s'inJ, ' Vis" yr'JZ- . ' 'if l: ' 7' Jk fir f- t ' ' - ,rX "?Sh ''""74" fT'i? f I; I'&tM r ? ' H members collect the bomb and artillery fragments and them Into a scrap a front loader to pick up and transport to the burn site. heap Air Force for pile (U.S. photo by Maj. Bob Jurek) EOD d '.,,'," ? It's a operation to clear the bombing ranges, for the most part. (U.S. Air Force photo by Ma. Bob Jurek) " by-han- S p Iff10 -- t, plane. Secondly, ordnance is removed to keep persons who might be wandering in the area not knowing what it is from stumbling across some still armed explosive and being maimed or killed. Pieces of ordnance are collected, charges removed and metal piled in heaps large enough for a front loader to pick up and move to an even larger pile. There, the materials are saturated with fuel oil, set afire and left to burn all day. The next day the scrap is burned again, as sometimes once is not enough to rid the metal of all the explosive material. Then the pile is removed to the munitions scrap burial site or larger pieces recycled through redistribution and marketing of the Defense Property Disposal Office. Ordnance that is too hazardous to remove or not Air Force is purposely exploded in place, said Maj. Robert Jurek, 2701st Operations Officer. "You either get it right the first time or you're dead," he said. It takes one to two weeks to completely clear a range. In addition to the New York and Utah ranges, the 2701st clears ranges in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Oklahoma, Colorado and Nevada. 0tm ' by-slgh- back toward the aircraft and damage the |