Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group (EODGRU) 2, comprised of Navy EOD technicians and Sailors, returned from a 12-month deployment as the command element for Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF) Paladin in Afghanistan, June 1.
CJTF Paladin is responsible for Counter-Improvised Explosive Device (C-IED) operations, training, evidence collection and analysis.
Returning home were 36 Sailors, individual augmentees from other Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) units, and soldiers from the 20th Support Command.
During their deployment, EOD Group 2 personnel helped CJTF Paladin: * Respond to 5,166 IED incidents, * Conduct 1,009 counter-IED operations, * Fight 269 enemy engagements throughout Afghanistan, * Remove 188,478 pounds of homemade explosives, * Remove 706 enemy weapons caches from the battlefield, * Provide C-IED training to 81,630 U.S. forces, 4,195 Coalition forces and 2,565 Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF).
Additionally, CJTF Paladin’s Intelligence unit supported 662 combat operations and developed 1,695 target support packages. The analysis provided critical forensic evidence in support of follow-on targeting of violent extremist networks.
Capt. Timothy Rudderow, EODGRU 2 commander, lead CJTF Paladin, composed of over 1,500 U.S. service members, civilians, and coalition partners all working together in support of ISAF Joint Command’s EOD and C-IED operations. He expressed his thanks for not only his Sailors supporting CJTF Paladin, but also the incredible support from the other services and his civilian team that are still serving in Afghanistan.
“Commanding CJTF Paladin was the most rewarding experience of my 35 years of Naval service,” said Rudderow. “This Paladin team had a big impact in the fight, saved lives, and made it matter.”
The 52nd Ordnance Group (EOD), based out of Fort Campbell, Ky., received the transfer of authority over CJTF Paladin, May 28.
EODGRU 2, headquartered at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story (JEBLCFS), oversees all east coast based Navy EOD mobile units, including one forward deployed mobile unit in Spain, as well as EOD Expeditionary Support Unit (EODESU) 2, EOD Operational Support Unit (EODOSU) 10, EOD Training and Evaluation Unit (EODTEU) 2, and Mobile Diving & Salvage Unit (MDSU) 2.
U.S. Navy EOD is the world’s premier combat force for countering explosive hazards and conducting expeditionary diving and salvage operations for the location, identification, rendering safe, recovery, field evaluation and disposal of all explosive ordnance, including chemical and nuclear weapons.
[mappress] Press Release, June 4, 2013; Image: US Navy