Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal Operations in Support of Army Special Operations Forces

110 Pages·2004·0.5 MB·English

ARMY EXPLOSIVE ORDNANCE DISPOSAL OPERATIONS
IN SUPPORT OF ARMY SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES:
WHAT CHANGES ARE REQUIRED?

A thesis presented to the Faculty of the US Army
Command and General Staff College in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree

MASTER OF MILITARY ART and SCIENCE
General Studies

by

MICHAEL D. EVANS, MAJ, USA
B.S., Western Illinois University, Macomb, Illinois, 1989

Fort Leavenworth, KS
2004

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
MASTER OF MILITARY ART and SCIENCE
THESIS APPROVAL PAGE
Name of Candidate: MAJ Michael D. Evans

Thesis Title: Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal Operations in Support of Army Special
Operations Forces: What Changes Are Required?

Approved by:

, Thesis Committee Chair
MAJ Marty L. Muchow, B.S.

, Member
LTC Steven G. Meddaugh, M.S.

, Member
Stephen D. Coats, Ph.D.

Accepted this 18th day of June 2004 by:

, Director, Graduate Degree Programs
Robert F. Baumann, Ph.D.

The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the student author and do not
necessarily represent the views of the US Army Command and General Staff College or
any other governmental agency. (References to this study should include the foregoing
statement.)
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ABSTRACT
ARMY EXPLOSIVE ORDNANCE DISPOSAL OPERATIONS IN SUPPORT OF
ARMY SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES: WHAT CHANGES ARE REQUIRED? by
MAJ Michael D. Evans, 110 pages

Army Special Operations (ARSOF) are a significant contributing force in the Global War
on Terrorism and have no explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) support other than on an ad
hoc basis. The EOD support provided ARSOF, while competent and trained for
conventional operations, has not undergone any unique preparation for operations in
support of ARSOF.

There has been no formal effort to engage both ARSOF and EOD in order to optimize
integration. This study assesses what can be done to insure that ARSOF is provided
focused and trained EOD in support of missions in a unique operational environment.

Conventional forces have ready access to EOD support though relationships established
in the continental United States, the Combat Training Centers, and past contingency
operations. The Army’s Cold War focus, resulted in EOD being organized and equipped
primarily to support conventional forces.

The operational environment has changed. The US can no longer expect to fight
predominately high intensity mechanized battles on linear, contiguous battlefields. Future
opponents will employ asymmetric methods in order to avoid our strengths. ARSOF is
central to combating these threats.

Proliferation of CBRN technology and the continued use of improvised explosive devices
in attacks globally demands a rigorous research effort.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank MAJ Marty Muchow, LTC Steve Meddaugh, and Dr. Steven
Coats for their time and patience with this project. I would also like to thank the EOD and
ARSOF soldiers for their thoughts and contributions. Mostly, I would like to extend my
appreciation to my wife, Pegan for spending the best year of her life making sure that I
had as much time as possible for this project.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
MASTER OF MILITARY ART and SCIENCE THESIS APPROVAL PAGE................ii
ABSTRACT.......................................................................................................................iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS..................................................................................................iv
ACRONYMS....................................................................................................................vii
ILLUSTRATIONS.............................................................................................................ix
TABLES..............................................................................................................................x
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................1
Research Questions and Research Relevancy to the
Current Operational Environment.................................................................................1
Limitations and Constraints.............................................................................................5
Existing Structure and Missions of Explosive Ordnance Disposal.................................7
Existing of Army Special Operations Forces................................................................13
The Textbook Unconventional War: ARSOF in Afghanistan.......................................19
CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW...........................................................................24
CHAPTER 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY...............................................................46
Threats to Internal Validity............................................................................................52
Mitigation of Internal Validity Threat...........................................................................52
CHAPTER 4. ANALYSIS ................................................................................................55
Doctrine .........................................................................................................................55
Organization...................................................................................................................57
Training..........................................................................................................................58
Leadership Development...............................................................................................63
Material..........................................................................................................................66
EOD Support to Rangers in Operation Iraqi Freedom..................................................67
Tabulated Data...............................................................................................................70
Initiatives Currently Underway.....................................................................................73
Support to Counter Proliferation of CBRN...................................................................76
Two Ways It Could Be Done.........................................................................................78
ARSOF Development of an Organic EOD Capability..................................................78
Develop Predeployment Habitual Relationship.............................................................80
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CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSIONS and RECOMMENDATIONS........................................83
Conclusions....................................................................................................................83
Recommendations..........................................................................................................84
GLOSSARY......................................................................................................................88
APPENDIX A QUESTIONNAIRE...................................................................................90
REFERENCE LIST...........................................................................................................93
INITIAL DISTRIBUTION LIST......................................................................................98
CERTIFICATION FOR MMAS DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT.................................99

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ACRONYMS
AAR After Action Review
AOB Advanced Operating Bases
ARSOF Army Special Operations Forces
CASCOM Combined Arms Support Command
CBRN Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear
CEA Captured Enemy Ammunition
CGSC Command and General Staff College
CJSOTF Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force
COE Contemporary Operational Environment
CP Counter-Proliferation
CS Combat Support
CSS Combat Service and Support
DA Direct Action
DAIRS Deployable Automated Incident Reporting System
DOD Department of Defense
DTA Directed Training Affiliation
EOD Explosive Ordnance Disposal
FOB Forward Operating Base
FORSCOM Forces Command
HDO Humanitarian De-mining Operations
IED Improvised Explosive Device
MMAS Master of Military Art and Science
NCO Noncommissioned Officers
vii
ODA Operational Detachment Alpha
OEF Operation Enduring Freedom
OIF Operation Iraqi Freedom
OPTEMPO Operational Tempo
SOF Special Operations Forces
TTP Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures
USASOC United States Army Special Operations Command
USSF US Special Forces
USSOCOM US Special Operations Command
UW Unconventional Warfare
UXO Unexploded Ordnance
WMD Weapons of Mass Destruction
viii
ILLUSTRATIONS
Page

Figure 1. EOD Peacetime Force Structure......................................................................13
Figure 2. Army Special Operations Organizational Structure........................................14
Figure 3. Tabulated Data Production..............................................................................51
Figure 4. Research Methodology....................................................................................54

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TABLES
Page

Table 1. EOD Tabulated Data........................................................................................71
Table 2. ARSOF Tabulated Data...................................................................................72
Table 3. Collective Perceptions.....................................................................................72

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