Explosive Ordnance Disposal team at work in Bamyan

22 August 2007
By Sgt Craig Harnett in Afghanistan

In Afghanistan three boys (aged between 9 and 11) are playing in the hills above their homes. They have been exploring the area and have decided to light a fire - even though they know they shouldn’t. The fire is burning well and they decide to place something they have found on the fire to see what will happen. Moments later all three boys are killed when the RPG round they placed on the fire explodes. This tragedy occurred because they lived in a country that has seen conflict for as long as history has been recorded and as a result the countryside is littered with the dangerous remnants of war.  

The Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team is responsible for the recovery and disposal of these munitions. The team consists of Sgt Te Whaea Edwards (NZ Army) and me, Sgt Craig Harnett (RNZAF).  We are four months into a six month tour of duty in the Bamyan Province of Afghanistan and have disposed of over 1200 high explosive items.

The majority of these items were found by local people while they plant crops, or tend their sheep. Often these people walk many miles to report the finds to Kiwi Base because they want their villages to be safer places for their children. You don’t have to look far to see the damage all the unexploded ordnance has caused. Seeing people with missing fingers and limbs is commonplace. Just the other night two of the locally employed civilians showed me their missing fingers and scars caused by landmines. Both had fragments still inside their legs and arms that you could feel under the skin. Every item we dispose of prevents someone getting hurt or killed.

We went to visit the village where the three boys were killed to see what could be done to improve the safety of the area. We were shown a 107mm high explosive rocket that had been fired into a cliff face above the village during the fighting with the Taliban. The rocket had failed to explode and could now clearly be seen protruding from the cliff face.  We managed to lasso the end of the rocket and attempted to remotely pull the rocket from the cliff face. We pulled in every direction but it wasn’t going to budge. The only option was to dig it out of the cliff. With additional help from Kiwi Base we rigged a rope and harness that allowed us to reach the rocket and attempt to dig it out. But the rocket wasn’t giving up that easily and after nearly two hours of hanging, digging and swearing at it for very little progress in the rock hard soil it was decided to counter charge the rocket.
C4 explosive can solve many of life’s problems and this was no exception. One loud explosion, two cracked windows, and the rocket was gone.

It can be a daunting task to help rid this country of unexploded ordnance. Even though we are the tenth rotation there is still so much being discovered every day in our area of operations. Many items are still being found within sight of Kiwi Base. This area has been blanketed with landmines, sub-munitions, mortars, rockets, artillery and bombs. The Afghan people are not entirely dependent on foreign forces to complete this work. They are being trained to clear minefields and we have already seen de-mining teams working within our area. They will be working for many years to rid this country of its dangerous past but after having seen firsthand how desperately they want a safe, peaceful and prosperous country there is no doubt that they have the willpower to see it through to the end.

More information about the EOD team is available here.

Latest images of the EOD in Afghanistan are available at our Image Gallery

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