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Navy removes ordnance found at Guam mayor’s office
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Posted on Dec 18 2013
BARRIGADA, Guam—Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 5 Detachment Marianas responded to a call of an ordnance found at the Barrigada Mayor’s Office yesterday afternoon.
The World War II, five-inch projectile was deemed safe by Navy explosive ordnance disposal technicians before transporting it to Naval Magazine for proper disposal.
“We are very fortunate to have the Navy here to help take care of our village and all the ordnance we find,” said Barrigada Vice Mayor Jessie Bautista. “We are overwhelmed and grateful to have them here in our community.”
The detachment has responded to 66 calls and conducted seven render-safe procedures in Guam during the current calendar year. Navy personnel also provide support in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Republic of Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, and Marshall Islands.
“It’s the most active shore detachment in the Navy and it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Chief Petty Officer Ryan Gilfillan, a Navy explosive ordnance disposal technician with the detachment. “We love what we do. It’s dangerous, but it is very rewarding because we know we are making the island and the Marianas a safer place.”
Island residents are strongly advised to call 911 in the event they come across ordnance or what may look like ordnance. Do not touch or handle the projectiles.
“These things are dangerous,” Gilfillan said. ‘It’s not something to have in your office, in your home. It’s still live munitions that can definitely get you and others around you hurt or killed.”
The mission of EODMU-5 Detachment Marianas is to render safe all types of ordnance, conventional and unconventional, improvised, chemical, biological and nuclear to include improvised explosive devices and weapons of mass destruction. They perform land and underwater location, identification, render safe, and recovery or disposal of foreign and domestic ordnance. They conduct demolition of hazardous munitions, pyrotechnics, and retrograde explosives using detonation and burning techniques.
