FM 9-15 EOD Service and Unit Operations - BITS

1 FM 9-158 MAY 1996By Order of the Secretary of the Army:Official:DENNIS J. REIMERG eneral, United States ArmyChief of StaffJOEL B. HUDSONA cting administrative assistant to theSecretary of the Army01530 DISTRIBUTION:Active Army, USAR, and ARNG: To be distributed in accordance with DA Form 12-1lE, requirementsfor FM 9-15, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Service and Unit Operations (Qty rqr block no. 0850).* GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1996-728-027/40097FM 9-15 PREFACEThis FM prescribes EOD doctrine for conducting EOD Operations during war and OOTW. It develops anddefines the EOD perspective on the Army s keystone warfighting doctrine described in FM 100-5. This manualidentifies the EOD mission, organization, roles, capabilities, and employment to support national security serves as a guide for commanders and staff who will use EOD support for Operations on conventional, chemical,nuclear, and improvised explosive also provides the EOD unit commander, staff, and personnelgeneral and technical guidance for conducting EOD unit 9-15 discusses several doctrinal changes: the implementation of the heavy and light EOD response teamconcept, the effect on EOD of the removal of the Army s tactical nuclear weapons from its inventories, and the roleof Army EOD in the postnuclear Army.

2 The contents of this manual are consistent with FM publication implements the following STANAGs:STANAG 2002, Warning Signs for the Marking of Contaminated or Dangerous Land Areas, CompleteEquipment, Supplies, and Stores, Edition 2079, Rear Area Security and Rear Area Damage Control, Edition 2143, Explosive Ordnance Reconnaissance/Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOR/EOD),Edition 2389, Minimum Standards of Proficiency for Trained Explosive Ordnance Disposal Personnel,Edition 2834, The Operation of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technical InformationCenter (EODTIC), Edition 2929, Airfie!d Damage Repair (ADR), Edition 2957, International System (SI) used by Armed Forces in the Nuclear Field, Edition proponent of this publication is HQ, TRADOC.

3 Send comments and recommendations on DA Form2028 (or in 2028 format) directly to Commander, USACASCOM&FL, Training Directorate, Attn: ATCL-AM, 801 Lee Avenue, Fort Lee, VA this publication states otherwise, masculine nouns and pronouns do not refer exclusively to 9-15 CHAPTER 1 THE EXPLOSIVE ORDNANCE DISPOSAL CHALLENGEThis chapter implements STANAGs 2079, 2389, and Service helps preserve the commander s combat power. It enables the commander to integrate and coordinatea variety of functions to prevent degeneration of combat power at the operational and tactical levels. The challengefor EOD is to help maintain the maneuver, firepower, sustainment, and protection functions across the full range ofArmy THREATThe strategic environment, even after the ColdWar, is both dangerous and ambiguous.

4 Increasedinstability in the world has resulted in regionalconflicts, civil wars, insurgences, terrorist attacks,drug trafficking, and a variety of attempts challenges arise even duringtimes of relative peace. With this threat, UXO andIEDs will reduce the commander s combat powerand national political, economic, military, and infor-mational power during of this threat, commanders at all levelsmust incorporate EOD support into their planningprocess. This will ensure commanders will be ableto respond to these worldwide strategic challengesacross a full range of Operations as part of a continuing development of foreign and UShigh-technology munitions that disperse numeroussubmunitions and area denial ordnance has led to theproliferation of UXO. These munitions are availablefor a range of weapon systems, including artillery,ballistic and cruise missiles, rockets, and bombs.

5 Onthe battlefield, UXO can be conventional HE;chemical, biological, or nuclear ordnance; or limits battlefield mobility, denies the use ofcritical assets, and threatens to injure or kill soldiersat levels unprecedented in past vastamounts of UXO found in Iraq and Kuwait duringand atter Operation Desert Storm testify to theincreased units in the Army must be able to cope withUXO on the battlefield. This calls for awarenesstraining for all soldiers and for procedures that limitthe effects of UXO on Operations . Refer to FM 21-16 for more information on the UXO problem. Attimes, EOD units will operate jointly with other non-EOD units, other services, or allied EOD units toperform counter-UXO Operations TENETSFive tenets of Army Operations are described inFM 100-5: initiative, agility, depth, synchronization,and EOD relates to each isdescribed sets or changes the terms of battle byaction.

6 It implies an offensive spirit in conductingall to the force as a whole, itrequires a constant effort to force the enemy toconform to our operational purpose and tempo whilekeeping our own freedom of action. Applied toindividual soldiers and leaders, it requires awillingness and ability to act independently withinthe framework of the higher commander s intent. Asin the past, EOD must excel at independent action toprovide time-critical support across the entirespectrum of Army Operations . EOD must anticipaterequirements and act before the needs are identifiedat higher is friendly forces acting faster than is a prerequisite for seizing and holdingthe greater quickness permits therapid concentration of friendly strength againstenemy is task-organized toensure a rapid and focused is the extension of Operations in space,time, and resources.

7 High technology weapons andthe enemy s capability to deliver them require EOD1-1FM 9-15support throughout the theater of Operations . EODprotects the commander s freedom of action andconserves flexibility and endurance. EOD preservesoperational plans and coordination by eliminating orreducing the hazards of conventional, nuclear,chemical, and biological munitions and IEDs thatthreaten personnel, military Operations , criticalfacilities, materiel, and whatever else is needed tosustain combat uses time, space, andresources to maximize combat power at the decisivetime and is both a process and a activities (such as intelligencepreparation, logistics, and fires) coordinated withmaneuver forces lead to synchronized actions to neutralize the threat of conventional,nuclear, chemical, and biological munitions andIEDs serve both the synchronization process andresult by providing protection, mobility, firepower,security, and actions requireexplicit coordination among the various units andactivities participating in any operation.

8 EOD plansits activities to quickly focus assets within othersynchronized activities such as maneuver, logistics,and commanders must ensure aunity of purpose. This requires anticipation, masteryof time-space-resource relationships, and completeunderstanding of the ways in which friendly andenemy capabilities is the ability to shift focus, to tailorforces, and to move from one mission to anotherrapidly and implies being multi-functional, operating across regions throughout thefull range of military Operations , and performing attactical, operational, and strategic levels. Versatilitydenotes performing in many roles during war andOOTW. It allows for the smooth transition from onemission to another. EOD is equally adept at clearingUXO from critical facilities, providing support to theUS Secret Service for presidential and VIPprotection, or examining, identifying, and reportingnew and unusual explosive ordnance for technicalintelligence requires supported units and EOD tointerface on a consistent permits thetailoring of EOD support to the supported units mission/function.

9 It also fosters an understanding ofeach other s capabilities and POWERC ommanders generate combat power using thefour combat power elements of maneuver, firepower,protection, and leadership to anticipate futureoperations. These elements are supported by theeffects of battlefield functions, tactical units, andjoint Operations and effectiveapplication and sustainment with each other willdecide the outcome of campaigns, major Operations ,battles, and performs animportant role in preserving the commander scombat is the first element of combat is the movement of combat forces to secure or tokeep an advantageous andpositioning units during deployment to a theater andwithin a theater before Operations are both forms greatly influence the outcome ofbattles and depends uponmobility to mass forces, attain surprise, reducevulnerability, exploit success, and preserve freedomof action.

10 It is concentrating forces at decisive pointsto achieve surprise, psychological shock, physicalmomentum, and positional advantages gained by groundmaneuver forces are unique to maneuver holding, and denying terrain leads tovictory and the ultimate attainment of strategic denial of terrain limits maneuver, UXO willthus have alargeimpact the enemy will attempt its ownmaneuvering to get our forces into disadvantageouspositions and subject to an technology weapons and the enemy scapabilities to deliver them may severely restrictmaneuver. In addition. the availability of ICMs hasdramatically restricted maneuver on the protects the freedom of maneuver. Teamsquickly respond to assist the maneuver element byidentifying,advising (if necessary)neutralizing UXO, EOD can also provide technicalassistance to maneuver elements.