Soldiers’ Demolition Training, an old art

U.S. Army Reserve Soldiers trained on how to set up different configurations for demolition. by Sgt. William Washburn.

Demolition training in Preparation for Iraq, 2008, when the art of learning to respect explosives had a more urgent timeline! By Mollie Miller

As a chilly rain fell lightly on the fields around Fort Rucker Jan. 24, 40 Soldiers from B Company, 46th Engineer Battalion huddled in bunkers at Molinelli Range and prepared for the their world to explode. 

“Fire in the hole. Fire in the hole. Fire in the hole,” they called out in a single voice. 

And, for a split second, the world around them held its breath.

In a heartbeat, the earth shook and an explosion rocked the Wiregrass. 

“This is exhilarating,” carpentry/masonry specialist Pvt. Samuel Voss said as smoke from the explosion disappeared into the gray sky. “This is always fun.” 

Thursday’s explosion was just one of several that erupted from Molinelli Range Jan. 23-24 during a Demolition Range Exercise that kicked off the next phase of the engineers’ training in preparation for a June deployment to Iraq. 

“This training goes back to our basic combat skills and focuses on things that Soldiers need to stay refreshed on,” B Co. Commander Capt. Angela Smoot said. “Plus, this is a great morale booster because engineers like to blow things up.” 

The two-day training was the first trip to a demo range for many of the Fort Rucker-based engineers.

“(The Soldiers) come out and you can tell they are a little scared to touch (the explosives) but after that first blast, they get more confident and more comfortable dealing with what they are doing,” Lt. Jeremy Atkinson, officer-in-charge of the demo range, said Jan. 24. “They’re having a good time.” 

Pfc. Jamal Polite, who has been with the company for almost a year, said his first demo range experience was a good one. 

“This is very different from what I expected,” he said. “Your adrenaline is rushing the whole time and when it goes off, it sends a little charge through your body that I didn’t expect.” 

During the two days of training, the engineers set off a total of 12 explosions. From shape charges that prepared the ground to detonate a crater charge to breeching charges that tore holes through wire obstacles, the Soldiers familiarized themselves with many of the explosive-related tasks they might encounter on the battlefield.

“As engineers, we need to be prepared to perform all engineering functions … when we operate in someone’s battle space,” Atkinson said. “It is very common for whatever unit we are supporting to turn to us and ask us to do things such as breeching charges and it is important for all our Soldiers to have an idea how to do it.”

And then there is underwater demolition training: By Sgt. Jon Heinrich 2016

Each day, the group sailed out to the range with three charges for training, with a total of nine charges.

The charges were set to a depth of 65 feet and detonated using time-delay fuses to ensure everyone was able to get a safe distance away from the explosions.

Masters said that although there were other reasons, the primary purpose of the mission was the training itself.

“Secondary purpose is to get diver checkoffs for our Soldiers,” Masters said. “In order for us to move into the ranks, we need specific checkoffs for underwater demolition, salvage, etc.

“A tertiary purpose is to get data on the effects of underwater demolition to marine life in appropriate distances and seeing if that affects them.”

The divers used underwater cameras and a hydrophone to collect the data of the effect on the marine life created by the blasts.

A hydrophone is a device used for recording underwater acoustics that can’t be detected by humans.

Sgt. John Huff, a lead diver with 7th EDD, said training with explosives underwater can be scary at first but that you quickly get the hang of it.

“The first time it is, but after that it’s kind of second nature,” Huff said. “You just got to be confident and know your whereabouts in the water.”

Huff also said that these types of training missions are a great way for newer Soldiers to get hands-on experience.

“Giving new experiences to new guys, it’s always good to see how they react to everything,” Huff said. “The knowledge-base that each and every individual has combined as one always benefits everybody.”

Some of the impacts that slowed the training were primarily the weather, Masters said.

This included strong winds and high waves that made maneuvering difficult, along with the demolition not working properly.

Another impact the divers had to watch out for was the marine life in the vicinity of the charges.

“When we’re doing this underwater demolition range, we have to worry about marine life, especially marine mammals and turtles,” Masters said.