| Explosive learning | |||||
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BY STAFF SGT. CHRISTOPHER HOLMES Joint Hometown News Service The Spectrum | |||||
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - When the Academy Award winning best picture "The Hurt Locker" showcased the dangerous business of defusing bombs in Iraq, actor Jeremy Renner put his acting talents to the test in a portrayal of an Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal expert. But Army Spec. Benjamin Y. Barlow isn't acting. For Barlow, being successful at defusing deadly explosives can mean the difference between life and death. Barlow, son of Glenda Barlow of Hildale and step-brother of Samuel Fischer Jr., of Washington City, is a student at the Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal School where he will spend close to a year learning the delicate techniques of how to recover, evaluate, safely render and dispose of live ordnance. For Barlow, paying attention to the details of such things as ordnance identification, disarmament, transportation and disposal, along with such things as rigging principles, recon procedures and biological and chemical training, can literally save lives in the very difficult and different battlefield of the 21st Century. "This training is by far the biggest mental challenge I have ever had," Barlow said. The Navy-supported school trains close to 2,000 students each year from all branches of the service. Barlow, like his fellow classmates, volunteered for the difficult school for a reason. "I decided to become an EOD technician after working with them during my first deployment to Iraq as a member of a route clearance team," Barlow said. More than just a Hollywood fascination, Barlow and his fellow EOD students feel that what they learn during this extensive training plays an important part of the life they will lead in the military, especially in danger spots like Iraq and Afghanistan. "I think this job is the most important because we are saving lives by rendering safe improvised explosive devices, which are currently the biggest threat in Iraq and Afghanistan," Barlow said. "I am confident that when I graduate I will be fully prepared to handle a bomb threat effectively." | |||||
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TheSpectrum.com Originally published April 19, 2010 | |||||
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