DELAWARE STATE POLICE EXPLOSIVE ORDNANCE DISPOSAL UNIT
Sergeant Christopher R. Ennis
The Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Team’s mission has evolved immensely since 9/11. Not only do our bomb technicians continue to place themselves in harms way responding to hazardous calls but today our EOD team serves in multiple roles. Our team has been tasked with providing assistance in the emergency preparedness discipline and is frequently called to assist the U.S. Secret Service with protective details for our most famous Delawarean, Vice President Joe Biden.
Each Delaware trooper was issued Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) to be used in the event of a terrorist attack. Our team was tasked with developing standardized procedures for its inspection, storage and deployment. Mr. Kurt Reuther, the Delaware Weapons of Mass Destruction Coordinator, worked with the EOD Team to develop and implement a systematic policy during the 2008 spring firearms session.
Along with members of the Division’s Special Operations Response Team, EOD members inspected, trained and tested every trooper in the Division on their issued PPE. Our personnel can be confident that their equipment meets the national standard for certification and will successfully protect them should the suits ever need to be deployed.
Each of our ten bomb technicians operate with a part time assignment. Every member is required to attend the monthly, three-day training sessions to keep their skills honed. Considering the technically advanced equipment needed to perform our mission, little down-time is found during training days. Fortunately, our efforts have paid off.
On May 28, 2008, officers from the Milford Police Department responded to a residence for a routine check on the welfare complaint. Concerned family members believed the subject to be depressed and a danger to himself so they requested police assistance. Officers inspected the home looking for the subject. During their inspection, officers discovered an assembled and fully functioning pipe bomb.
The DSP/EOD Team responded, and used our bomb disposal robot to remove the device from the residence and render it safe. During the render safe procedure, the device exploded. Fortunately, no one was hurt. Our robot wasn’t so lucky. The explosion seriously damaged the robot, rendering it inoperable. During the 24-hour call-out, our technicians located and rendered safe seven explosive devices and various bomb making materials. The subject was later apprehended in West Virginia and extradited to Delaware where he is waiting trial in U.S. Federal Court.
In the fall of 2008, our EOD Team began assisting the United States Secret Service with their protection detail for Vice President Joe Biden. Needless to say, the election season was a busy time for the team. Our EOD Team is prepared to assist our new partners for the next four years.
Throughout the year, members of the EOD Team were called for service a staggering 234 times, 87 more than the previous year. Seventy-one of these calls for service were to assist the United States Secret Service with security details related to Vice President Joe Biden. Other notable statistics are, eight call-outs for live Improvised Explosive Devices, seven Suspicious Packages, thirty-two times assisting other units within the division, twenty-three incidents where explosives, fireworks and ammunition were recovered, thirteen calls for the recovery of Military Ordnance and forty-eight times where two or more team members conducted fit testing on divisional members Personal Protection Equipment. All of this activity was in addition to their normal full time assignment.
The Delaware State Police EOD Team has shown adaptability and perseverance by growing with this continuously evolving field and threats against our way of life. Today’s threats are more alarming than ever before due to the ingenuity of our adversaries and easy access to explosive components worldwide. In fact, DSP has been recognized as being a leader in the industry by using techniques outside of the traditional EOD paradigm. While continuing to utilize specialized equipment and attending advanced training our EOD Team will remain prepared to face threats against our communities and critical infrastructure facilities on a moments notice. Our motto of “Initial Success… Or Total Failure” is a constant reminder to our technicians of the perilous challenges we must successfully conquer with each and every mission. Failure is not an option.
- Information obtained from 2008 DSP
Annual Report -
