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 service to assist the U.S. Secret Service with protective details for our most famous Delawarean, Vice President Joe Biden.

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.

Our team members have continued to prepare themselves for the country’s emerging terror threat, Homemade Explosives. Terrorists have found it harder than ever before to obtain commercially made explosives such as Ammonium Nitrate, one of the explosives used in the Oklahoma City bombing. The advancement of explosive detection equipment has also helped deter terrorist’s plans to smuggle explosives aboard all forms of mass transportation. To counter these preventative measures, terrorists, both foreign and domestic have turned to common chemicals found in local home improvement, beauty supply, and pool supply stores. The energy produced from these homemade explosives rival that of the most powerful commercially available explosive.

The DSP-EOD Team believes that by educating all first responders, security officers, hotel and motel employees, and various other public works employees on what key indicators to be on the lookout for, these force multipliers will become the eyes and ears for the Delaware State Police. A direct result of this training was the reduction in the number of suspicious package calls we received in 2010.

In October, the DSP-EOD Team participated in the second annual Delaware State Police Hometown Security Conference. The conference was attended by over one hundred fifty Law Enforcement Officers from thirty-one different agencies throughout Delaware. The EOD Team provided extensive training on identifying pre-cursors used in the manufacture of homemade explosives and how to properly respond to suspicious package or IED calls. The highlight of the presentation was the explosives range demonstration showing the explosive energy of homemade explosives made from common household chemicals. Already in Delaware, we have experienced an upswing in calls for service where homemade explosives are the key element in IED’s.

Throughout the year, members of the EOD Team were called for service 162 times, a pace that rivals that of most full time teams. The most common calls for service include, 13) Improvised Explosive/Hazardous Devices, 24) Suspicious Packages, 25) Protective/Preventative Sweeps, 27) recoveries of explosives, fireworks, and other hazardous items, 31) first responder/community awareness presentations, 9) times assisting other units within the division.

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 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.

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 - Information obtained from 2010 DSP Annual Report -