720 EOD wins Team of the Year

by Sgt. DJ Borden
16th Sustainment Brigade Public Affairs Office
Soldiers of the 702nd Ordnance Company Explosive Ordnance Disposal, 16th Special Troops Battalion, prepare to detonate an Improvised Explosive Device during the U.S. Army Europe Team of the Year Competition June 8. Three two-man teams, representing both 702 and 720 EOD competed in the USAREUR TOY for the opportunity to travel to the Department of the Army level TOY in Fort AP Hill, Virginia.

Members of the 702nd and 720th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Com-panies competed for the U.S. Army Europe Team of the Year at the training area in Baumholder, June 4-9.

Both units fall under the 16th Special Troops Battalion, 16th Sustainment Brigade, and are the only EOD units under USAREUR.

Three two-man teams each comprised of a leader and a member competed in the weeklong USAREUR level TOY competition.

One team representing 720 EOD was Staff Sgt. Andrew Himple, leader, and Specialist Christopher Thé, member, who had not worked together for long, but agreed that events like TOY enhance proficiency and readiness.

“It keeps our skills fresh so we don’t lose [our] capability,” said Himple. “This increases my team’s readiness. By working together, we know what each other’s needs are.”

Himple expressed his pride in his team and was pleased with how well they did.

“I’ve been happy with my team’s performance,” Himple said. “During the ruck march we came in first. I was worried because there was a lot of uphill and I’m getting old so my body doesn’t like walking that with weight on, but I’m happy with our performance.”

Thé used the competition as a tool to prepare himself for real-world
scenarios.

“They throw a lot of things at you quickly so you have to think on your feet,” said Thé. “When they recreate [these EOD scenarios] for me, that’s been the best kind of training.”

Organizers challenged the teams with three to four different scenarios daily.

It was a mental and strategic challenge and a battle against the elements, as teams toughed it out against heavy rains and high heat.

For most of the events, organizers gave the teams two hours to finish and graded them using the Combined Arms Training Strategies system.

The events included a dismounted Improvised Explosive Device lane, a rescue lane armed with land mines, and a 12-mile ruck march.

The winning team will travel to Fort AP Hill, Virginia, to compete against other U.S. Army EOD teams around the world.

Staff Sgt. John Harris, leader of 720 EOD and Specialist Adam Tibbles, member of 720 EOD, claimed victory of TOY.

“I feel good,” said Harris after winning the EOD TOY trophy. “I learned that lots of times while training you don’t get to experience the stress factor doing our job in a rushed scenario. They presented [the stress factor] well.”

Soldiers of the 702nd Ordnance Company Explosive Ordnance Disposal, 16th Special Troops Battalion, prepare to detonate an Improvised Explosive Device during the U.S. Army Europe Team of the Year Competition June 8. Three two-man teams, representing both 702 and 720 EOD competed in the USAREUR TOY for the opportunity to travel to the Department of the Army level TOY in Fort AP Hill, Virginia.
Staff Sgt. Andrew Himple, team leader for 720th Ordnance Company Explosive Ordnance Disposal, 16th Special Troops Battalion, searches through a dark room laced with booby traps during the U.S. Army Europe Team of the Year competition on June 8.

Harris and Tibbles have been a team for less than five months, but came out victorious in the USAREUR TOY and look forward to doing the same in Virginia.

“I hope to pull out the W,” Harris said. “[I look forward] to some more good training.”