Explosives Ordnance Disposal personnel from Australia, US, Singapore and New Zealand have completed training at Guam Naval Base during Exercise Tricrab 2016.
Hosted by US Navy Explosives Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit Five, the technicians developed their explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) skills while working with multi-national teams from May 2–23.
The three-week exercise included dealing with improvised explosive devices (IED), fast rope training, aerial mine disposal, live underwater demolitions and other mine countermeasures.
Australian clearance divers are original participants in the exercise which started in the mid-1990s and is held biennially to foster interoperability and enhance capability in the explosives ordnance disposal community.
Royal Australian Navy’s Able Seaman clearance diver Jason Bennett was motivated by the camaraderie and interoperability among the multi-national teams.
“Building relationships between the different nations’ divers has been a highlight of Exercise Tricrab 16,” Able Seaman Jason Bennett said. “The ‘free-play’ phase focused on completing complex EOD evolutions, testing the unit’s people, equipment, procedures and tactics to full capability.”