I have occasionally received e-mail from enthusiastic future EOD students telling me about what they are doing to prepare for school, or asking advice on how best to prepare. Thus this portion of my web site is born. Here is my honest advice for future EOD students:
- First off, coming from an ordnance related military field, like the AO rating, does NOT increase your chances of completing EOD school. Ordnance from an EOD prospective is totally different than any other. During my tours as an instructor, more AO's and Gunner's Mates made more stupid mistakes than anyone else. If you feel comfortable with ordnance, EOD is not the field for you.
- Never listen to scuttlebutt about an instructor's way of doing things. Whoever your instructor is for a particular class, do it the way he or she says to do it and not any differently. If you fail a problem because you followed your instructor's directions you can make your case at the Academic Review Board.
- Study hall isn't for dumb students. It's for smart students who want to become smarter and stay alive longer. It's an opportunity to excel. If you feel study hall takes away from the time you need to do other things you probably should quit.
- Explosives explode. If they explode too close to your body, it's not good.
- Your innovative ideas on how to circumvent safety precautions are not required or desired. For example - If you're told not to walk over time fuse or det cord, don't pick it up and walk under it.
- Being an admin guru is not a bad thing. EOD procedures are contained in a vast publication database and the ability to use it quickly is to your advantage.
- When diving, explosives exploding under water will do more damage to your body than in the air. Water does not dampen safety precautions.
- Doing fun class things like making coded marks on training aids will get you kicked out of school. It's hard enough figuring out the marks that belong there.
- It's far better to ask your instructor a question that turns out to be stupid, than for you to make an assumption that could make you or someone else dead.
- Eels are slender and slippery. Torpedoes are usually bigger and not so slippery. If you don't understand this one, don't worry, you will.
- Individuals do not graduate EOD school. Classes do. If the concept of teamwork is new to you, you WILL be left behind. I've never met another Tech that could be down range AND run the hotline at the same time.
- The best effort you can make to prepare for EOD school is to be physically fit. I'm not talking Navy standard PRT fit either. If you're concerned about your level of fitness you obviously need to do it more. My first week of EOD school back when we had it at Huntsville, we lost over half the class (29 people) during the PT alone. That was even before diver training started.
- Accept your student status with good grace, even if you're an officer. The instructors don't expect you to know anything when you show up and are not impressed when you try to prove otherwise. Regardless of who you are or what your rank is, there will be someone on staff who is more senior.
- Golf balls and baseballs are not nicknamed that so you can play with them. Doing so shows how ignorant you are.
- Discussing your bad day with your wife or brother can get you kicked out of school, or worse, locked up. This is especially true if your bad day had anything to do with CLASSIFIED PROCEDURES, which by chance, most EOD procedures are.
- When in doubt, see previous line item.
- Most EOD tools have been in existence longer than you have been alive. Trying to modify written procedures can be bad, both from a safety and academic prospective.
- Playing war games on your PC can be fun. EOD work is usually not fun. You should decide which you intend to spend more time on and pursue that course. EOD incidents usually happen after hours, on weekends, on holidays, in dark water, in cold weather, windy and rainy, or at other times which will conflict with your personal plans (including sleep). Quitting in the middle of an EOD job will make you VERY unpopular, especially at Captain's Mast. In other words, no matter how bad you feel after a training day at EOD school, nothing can prepare you for the reality you face once you've graduated. If you don't like this thought, quit now so someone more motivated can fill your seat.
- Cheating at EOD school will result in one of two things. Either you'll get caught, or you'll get caught. Remember, all EOD instructors were once students themselves. If you need to resort to cheating you're most likely out of your league and should consider an alternate career.
- Don't abuse training aids simply because they are blue or marked "inert". Supposedly inert items have been found every now and then, to contain live explosives. Whoever painted and marked the items originally was having a bad day.
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