Air Force EOD...First hand experience needed

[RIDDLER]

Well to start off I've been sworn in since early February, and have yet to be assigned a job. At the time of me swearing in I learned of EOD and became interested (mainly because the 13k sign on bonus). However, my family and girlfriend immediately shot it down for the obvious reasons. So I just decided to say the hell with it and wait it out for a job on my list. Well it's been almost 6 months of waiting and still nothing from my list. Well yesterday my recruiter calls and tells me there are several EOD openings coming up and I would leave around the first of the year if I decide to. Honestly I would love to do EOD, but I'm trying to look out for my future family.

So here's the question/s. How is the EOD lifestyle? I realize the dangers of this job out in the field, but from someone in EOD how bad or good is it? It wouldn't take much to convince myself to go for it, as my interest in the job are pretty high. Just want to hear from the guys that do this as a career.

Thanks

-Phillip

 

[jerrad]

I finished school a few months ago so I don't have much real time in EOD. For the most part everyone that wears a crab is pretty laid back. When you're training or running an OP everyone is on point and doesn't dick around. When you're just in the shop doing the daily grind it's about as relaxed environment as you can get.

To make it through Sheppard and Eglin you have to want to do this job 100%. The days are long and everyday at the school house could be your last.

What are some specific questions you have?

 

[USMC53CHIEF]

I worked with pj's and eod both navy and air force. All seemed good to go, no one ever complained, but then again it is the air force what is there to complain about lol jk... Any EOD guy Ive ever worked with has been good to go, like jerrad said, real laid back.

 

[RIDDLER]

I finished school a few months ago so I don't have much real time in EOD. For the most part everyone that wears a crab is pretty laid back. When you're training or running an OP everyone is on point and doesn't dick around. When you're just in the shop doing the daily grind it's about as relaxed environment as you can get.

To make it through Sheppard and Eglin you have to want to do this job 100%. The days are long and everyday at the school house could be your last.

What are some specific questions you have?

As far as specifics....I have quite a few and to be honest. Anyhow, from what you've heard, how dangerous is the job at this point in the war? When I try and talk it over with the family, they immediately think of "The Hurt Locker" and think I'm going to get my ass blown off. Of course anything is possible, but from what I hear from my friends and the war being closer to the end, it's all kind of more laid back.

Also being EOD, it's not your typical factory style job in the AF. So during the work week what is our job? Just training 24/7? I'm lost on this topic.

Also at this point in time I'm in a serious relationship in which we have thought about getting married before I leave for BMT. From what I've read and been told, any training that is 10+ weeks my wife can live on or off base. Is this true? Cause that is one of the main issues at this point in time.

I know you said I have to be 100% determined, which isn't a problem. But I'm just wondering how hard the curriculum is to learn and remember.

Thanks for your help.

 

[OU812]

Out of curiosity, what other jobs did you put on your list? I have a few friends that are EOD and they all love it, I know when they don't have a mission they do the same thing we do, sit around in the office as just BS about everything.....if all your training is good. I'm not sure what it's like for the new guys though since the guys I know are all E-6 and above.

 

[motorider228]

Not trying to sound like a dick, but you need to live your life for you. Don't turn down a job you want to do because your family is scared. The first time you deploy they will be scared regardless of the job.

 

[RDJ]

My experience with the EOD guys in Iraq (admittedly NOT on an op lol) they were one of the finest bar none when it came to professionalism on the job and laid back and friendly no b.s. off.

and LOL at your family thinking the Hurt Locker was anything to base their fears on. a LOT of that movie was hollywood hype. I would certainly let my family know their concerns were duly noted but would not really let them have much influence on my decision. it is YOUR life not theirs, it is YOUR career not theirs. You have to do what is good for you.

the GF is another matter. you have to decide if you are willing to let her make your career decisions for you and decide BEFORE the wedding. If you are willing to let her do that fine, but be prepared to never take another risk in your life and be stuck doing jobs that you will not likely enjoy. It take a certain mentality to even want to go into EOD and that mentality will not be happy doing anything mundane.

the above being said however, if your GF is not 100% behind you on this and you intend to get married anyway don't bother even applying. EOD is the kind of job you can't have the fact your wife doesn't approve of what you are doing in the back of your mind while you are blowing shit up. the shit you blow up just might be yours because of the distraction.

As far as specifics....I have quite a few and to be honest. Anyhow, from what you've heard, how dangerous is the job at this point in the war? When I try and talk it over with the family, they immediately think of "The Hurt Locker" and think I'm going to get my ass blown off. Of course anything is possible, but from what I hear from my friends and the war being closer to the end, it's all kind of more laid back.

Also being EOD, it's not your typical factory style job in the AF. So during the work week what is our job? Just training 24/7? I'm lost on this topic.

Also at this point in time I'm in a serious relationship in which we have thought about getting married before I leave for BMT. From what I've read and been told, any training that is 10+ weeks my wife can live on or off base. Is this true? Cause that is one of the main issues at this point in time.

I know you said I have to be 100% determined, which isn't a problem. But I'm just wondering how hard the curriculum is to learn and remember.

Thanks for your help.

 

[jerrad]

As far as specifics....I have quite a few and to be honest. Anyhow, from what you've heard, how dangerous is the job at this point in the war? When I try and talk it over with the family, they immediately think of "The Hurt Locker" and think I'm going to get my ass blown off. Of course anything is possible, but from what I hear from my friends and the war being closer to the end, it's all kind of more laid back.

Also being EOD, it's not your typical factory style job in the AF. So during the work week what is our job? Just training 24/7? I'm lost on this topic.

Also at this point in time I'm in a serious relationship in which we have thought about getting married before I leave for BMT. From what I've read and been told, any training that is 10+ weeks my wife can live on or off base. Is this true? Cause that is one of the main issues at this point in time.

I know you said I have to be 100% determined, which isn't a problem. But I'm just wondering how hard the curriculum is to learn and remember.

Thanks for your help.

AF EOD is less than 1% of the AF but we make up around 15% of the injured or killed.
Yup, tons of training and running ops. You're always doing something to stay sharp.

Yeah, once you get to eglin you can get a house and live off base if married.

The main thing people say about the school house is "its like trying to get a sip of water from fire hydrant." Its pretty close to true. LOL. You'll learn something one Fay and test in it the next with minimal time to study. You have written tests and practical tests. I think here's around 42 test if you go through without failing anything. If you score an 84% you just failed. During practical tests you can do everything perfect and forget to say one safety and you just failed. LOL. The school is meant to make you be anal about details and to be able to safe something that could turn you into vapor all while doing it in a timely manner.

It's awesome

 

[jerrad]

Excuse any grammatical errors, typed all that on a phone.
let me know if you have any more. Ill do more when I get to a computer

 

[stangaholic280]

Not trying to sound like a dick, but you need to live your life for you. Don't turn down a job you want to do because your family is scared. The first time you deploy they will be scared regardless of the job.

On this same thought process, I'd say don't do the job just for the 13K bonus. That money will be gone before you know it and you'll be stuck doing a job that you picked just for $ for 4-6 years.

 

[Last]

For any kind of job that is that involved, you better have your heart set on it. I think you are more attracted to the 13k bonus.

 

[OU812]

Just go be a loadmaster, the AF is hurting for them right now. It's so bad that they are trying to get reservists to leave the reserves to come back to active duty. They are giving some pretty hefty bonuses right now for those guys too. The job is boring and doesn't really cross-over into anything in the civilian world but if you're planning on making a career out of the AF it's worth it, aircrew gets treated way better than 99% of the other career fields.

 

[RIDDLER]

Sorry for the late response, been away from the house a lot lately. Anyway I appreciate all the responses you all have given. Just to clear a few things up, my girlfriend is actually one of the few that is backing me with my decision. She knows that I really want in and can handle the task. Like the rest of my family she is a bit skeptical on the danger side, but I've had her read a lot of the research I have done and now she's on board.

Back on topic though.. Yeah I'm still fairly young at 21 so $13k is somewhat appealing, however it's not that influential on making a decision to pursue EOD. Besides my interest that I already have in the job, I am thinking in the back of my head if I will ever be offered a job on my list. Like I said it's been six months and nothing has been offered except jobs that have been abandoned with unreasonable leave dates. I couldn't track down my original job list but off the top of my head I had put down mainly mechanical, electrical, engineer, and maintenance type of jobs as well as an avionics jobs. So I'm not sure if what I put down are jobs that are given out rarely or what but my recruiter was nonexistent in helping at the time. So with that being said and having an open slot, should I just go for it or wait it out for something on the list. BTW EOD would have been on the list the first go around if I had known what I do now. The one and only thing that really is keeping me from signing for EOD is the ridiculous washout rate.

 

[jerrad]

Sorry for the late response, been away from the house a lot lately. Anyway I appreciate all the responses you all have given. Just to clear a few things up, my girlfriend is actually one of the few that is backing me with my decision. She knows that I really want in and can handle the task. Like the rest of my family she is a bit skeptical on the danger side, but I've had her read a lot of the research I have done and now she's on board.

Back on topic though.. Yeah I'm still fairly young at 21 so $13k is somewhat appealing, however it's not that influential on making a decision to pursue EOD. Besides my interest that I already have in the job, I am thinking in the back of my head if I will ever be offered a job on my list. Like I said it's been six months and nothing has been offered except jobs that have been abandoned with unreasonable leave dates. I couldn't track down my original job list but off the top of my head I had put down mainly mechanical, electrical, engineer, and maintenance type of jobs as well as an avionics jobs. So I'm not sure if what I put down are jobs that are given out rarely or what but my recruiter was nonexistent in helping at the time. So with that being said and having an open slot, should I just go for it or wait it out for something on the list. BTW EOD would have been on the list the first go around if I had known what I do now. The one and only thing that really is keeping me from signing for EOD is the ridiculous washout rate.

At my Indoc we started with 21 people and had 7 make it through to Eglin, 90+ of the failouts at the Indoc was based on PT. You get shit on for the first 2hrs of the day.

At Eglin we started with 22 and I was one of 6 originals to graduate with the class. If you fail a test twice you get rolled back or kicked out depending on multiple things.

It's not easy but it's worth the crap you deal with.

 

[RIDDLER]

Understandable. When you say PT, what is passing and what isn't? I know our PT scores have to be at he very top, just curious as to what I should expect to be at

 

[jerrad]

You have to pass a PAST test to get an EOD contract. Also, we had to re-take the PAST prior to leaving the Indoc. If you didn't meet the standards you wouldn't go to Eglin.
35 pushups in 2 minutes
50 army-style situps in 2 minutes
3 pullups
1.5 mile run under 11:00

It's not the PT standards that are getting people.
The whole time you're in the Indoc you're getting smoked. In the first week we had 3 people passout, everyone puked, and we had to have an ambulance comeout when a guys heart rate was like 220+ amd it wasn't lowering. lol

 

[RIDDLER]

I see. So basically as soon as you get to sheppard you're getting your ass handed to you for 20 days. Then if your in tip top physical shape you get to go to eglin for the big show. I know at this time I can not run the 1.5 mile in under 11 mins, but I'm not far off.

 

[jerrad]

I see. So basically as soon as you get to sheppard you're getting your ass handed to you for 20 days. Then if your in tip top physical shape you get to go to eglin for the big show. I know at this time I can not run the 1.5 mile in under 11 mins, but I'm not far off.

You don't have to be a beast, just meet the standard that I posted. You won't be able to sign an EOD contract until you pass the PAST test.

All my numbers went down while at Sheppard. You don't have time to recover so it's just a way to see how bad you want it, not get you in great shape. After I got to Eglin and had a little rest I ran my 1.5 nearly a minute faster than I did at basic and at Sheppard.

 

[RIDDLER]

Yeah I'm working up for the PAST test at the moment. Just have to get in running shape. One last question lol. I know you just got out of school, but can you give me a better idea of what goes on monday-friday after you graduate? Just trying to get the best overall in my head of what I may be getting into lol.

Thanks for your help Jerrad.

 

[jerrad]

Yeah I'm working up for the PAST test at the moment. Just have to get in running shape. One last question lol. I know you just got out of school, but can you give me a better idea of what goes on monday-friday after you graduate? Just trying to get the best overall in my head of what I may be getting into lol.

Thanks for your help Jerrad.

You'll basically be doing some sort of training unless you're responding to a call or are deployed. You'll be getting to know equipment, cleaning tools, cleaning trucks, the shop, etc. The first 6 months or so you'll be doing your CDC's so that you can be qualified to be a team member.