Explosions may be heard from Wright-Patterson today

No need for alarm, base says

Credit: U.S. Air Force photo by Wesley F

Credit: U.S. Air Force photo by Wesley F

If you hear what sounds like explosions coming from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, don’t be alarmed. There’s a good reason for that.

The base is warning that its 788th Civil Engineer Squadron’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal (CES EOD) team plans to conduct detonations Monday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

The 788th CES EOD has been recognized for its work. The squadron was awarded the Senior Master Sgt. Gerald J. Stryzak Award for best civil engineer explosive ordnance disposal flight of the year for 2017 at the Air Force Materiel Command level. (Air Force Materiel Command is based at Wright-Patterson.)

In 2017, the team responded to 13 emergency responses supporting civil authorities, including local law enforcement, the base has noted.  They sacrificed 222 man-hours to safely dispose of 21 unexploded ordnances that year.

The EOD’s efforts protected a 195,000 square mile area worth over $8 million, according to an award nomination.

“Our unit’s success over the past year is a direct result of the dedication of every technician on the team,” Master Sgt. Brandon Guingrich, EOD training and quality assurance section chief with the 788th Civil Engineer Squadron, said in 2018. “Everyone works and trains together to ensure that we can handle any conventional, improvised, nuclear, or weapons of mass destruction threat at a moment’s notice.”

The team also headed a high-level security program in support of 25 U.S. Secret Service missions, Wright-Patterson has said. They worked with 33 teams, absorbing 4,000 man-hours to search 2,000 vehicles and sweep a 12 million square foot area to include facilities.

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