From the fairly exotic to the plainly mundane, certain jobs carry an inherent danger. The men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces keep people around the world safe at a high cost. The dangers of serving as enlisted military personnel are well known at times of war, especially while on active duty deployment. Even in times of peace, military members take on many painstaking tasks.
Four marines were killed recently while clearing unexploded armaments at Camp Pendleton in California. They were bomb removal technicians – one of the most dangerous jobs in the Marines. Thousands of military personnel are injured at work every year.
A bomb removal technician is one of the few positions in which the Marine Corps allows team members to quit at any time. The reason for that is because their mental focus must be strong to deal with life or death decisions. According to former bomb technicians, only a small number quit, despite the risks that go with discovering and getting rid of unexploded bombs, either in the combat zone or on a U.S. base.
The four marines were killed in the morning, during a regular sweep to make a range safer for future training drills. There was no live firing on the range at the time. Military officials said they would not make any details public until an investigation into the cause of the accident is completed.
According to a Marine Corps spokeswoman, individuals who become bomb technicians have already served four years in the Marine Corps. They go through arduous physical and mental screenings. The military examines their personal lives, making sure they do not have any legal problems or other issues that could have an effect on their job performance.
Bomb technicians work in a team but are frequently relied upon to make decisions in the field on their own, such as whether it is secure enough to move unexploded armament or safe to diffuse a roadside bomb. The Marine Corps presently has 715 explosive bomb disposal technicians. During the Iraq war, the 20 bomb technicians were killed, and another 24 have been killed in Afghanistan.
People can be injured while working in any type of job, but individuals who are in the military are exposed to a far greater threat of injury or death while doing their job.
Source: www.9news.com, “Marines killed at Pendleton doing dangerous job” No author given, Nov. 14, 2013
