DATE: Thursday, October 23, 1997            TAG: 9710220693

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Military 

SOURCE: BY ALVA CHOPP, CORRESPONDENT 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   92 lines

DEFUSING DANGERFROM HOMEMADE PIPE BOMBS TO UNEXPLODED ORDNANCE, NORFOLK'S DISPOSAL TEAM FACES RISKS EVERY DAY WHILE COVERING EMERGENCIES FROM FLORIDA TO ICELAND.

Rappelling from a helicopter to the pitching deck of a ship. Diving under the sea to defuse a live bomb. Parachuting into the ocean to reach unexploded ordnance.

It sounds like an action movie. But it's just another day on the job for the six members of Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit Team Two at Norfolk Naval Base.

The Norfolk team is kept busy with calls from local bases. They also work closely with the Virginia Beach Police and the Virginia state police bomb squads. They answer calls from nervous citizens who find wartime mementos in the attic and construction crews who unearth Civil War cannonballs.

``A week doesn't go by that we don't pick up ordnance somewhere in the area,'' said Lt. Clark A. Nichols, officer in charge of the local team. Hampton Roads, he said, is littered with old ordnance, from the Civil War era to the present day.

That means a heavy workload for the disposal team.

``We usually operate in two-man teams,'' Nichols said, ``but it depends on the threat level. All six members of the team are on beepers 24 hours a day.''

The EOD concept was born of the bombings in London during World War II. Untrained British volunteers attempted to defuse unexploded bombs, and as the death toll rose, the U.S. Navy recognized the need for specialized training in bomb disposal. Since the Korean War, explosive ordnance disposal teams have worked to locate, identify, secure and dispose of military ordnance.

Members of the larger EOD Mobile Unit Two at Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base regularly deploy with the fleet to meet the needs of military around the world. But it's the responsibility of the small Norfolk detachment to cover the Atlantic region from Iceland to Florida.

With its diverse skills in rappelling, diving and parachuting, the team can reach nearly any situation.

``If an aircraft or parachute or dive team can get there, so can we,'' said Senior Chief Dave Bailey, assistant officer in charge of the Norfolk team. ``We're the only dive disposal team in the area and our air assets (through the Norfolk Naval Air Station) can get us anywhere in the world.''

The team also works with Secret Service units to ensure the safety of the president and his staff when they travel.

The members of the EOD detachment are proud of their work, but quick to dispel the notion that they are like television's ``MacGyver,'' rushing headlong into a crisis with few materials at hand.

``Most people come into this field of work because of the amount of responsibility involved,'' Nichols said. ``On the team, we all share the responsibilities. You learn to depend on each other.''

Chief Petty Officer Sean Cabo, the team's leading chief, said the work doesn't seem as dangerous to his teammates as it does to outsiders. ``It's what we're trained to do,'' he explained. ``If you begin to dwell on the dangers, then you shouldn't be in this field.''

The greatest danger, he said, is that information about explosives is becoming more and more available to the public. ``A device doesn't have to be intricate to be lethal,'' Cabo said. ``Anybody can now get information about explosives off the Internet or through publications.''

Because of the increased threat, EOD works closely with the Virginia Beach Police bomb squad to share training and technological information.

Sgt. Robert Batten, head of the Virginia Beach squad, said his unit's techniques differ from EOD because their missions differ. ``Ours is a controlled environment,'' Batten said. ``Our rule is that we approach an object in our bomb suit. They don't always have that option.''

The Navy's newest technology, including sonar and in-the-field X-ray equipment, radio-controlled detonating devices and lightweight bomb protection suits, are used by the EOD team. And lighter is better. Since team members have to carry their equipment with them - whether rappelling from a helicopter onto a ship's deck or parachuting into the sea - its size and weight is a major consideration.

The Navy's team usually deals with factory-produced ordnance, while city bomb squads more often face explosives in cardboard boxes or bags.

``The homemade devices often prove the greatest threat to the technician until it can be identified,'' Bailey said. ``No one has all the information. Sharing our information is vital. That way, no one gets surprised.''

City and military disposal teams try to train together once a month. The joint training has been an asset to the city squad, Batten said, and, in the event of a major threat, the additional personnel and equipment would be an asset.

``Now, in this technological age where there are gun shows, the Internet and a proliferation of information about explosives, there are going to be more incidents of people experimenting for curiosity or intent to harm,'' Bailey said. ``The need for the EOD is only going to grow.''

Batten agreed. ``The threat level is increasing,'' he said. ``The Navy's EOD team has been an excellent resource for the civilian world and they've proven it time and time again.'' ILLUSTRATION: RICHARD L. DUNSTON

The Virginian-Pilot photos

Chief Petty Officer Sean Cabo...

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