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Burnett studying at bomb disposal school

Air Force Staff Sgt. Christopher T. Burnett removes the battery of a robot at Naval School Explosive Ordnance Disposal. He is the son of George T. Burnett of Huntington.
Photo provided.

Air Force Staff Sgt. Christopher T. Burnett, son of George T. Burnett of Huntington, is a student at the Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) School at Eglin Air Force Base, FL.

He will spend close to a year at the school, learning the delicate techniques of how to recover, evaluate, safely render and dispose of live ordnance.

For Burnett, paying attention to the details of such things as ordnance identification, disarmament, transportation and disposal, along with such things as rigging principles, recon procedures and biological and chemical training can save lives in the very difficult and different battlefield of the 21st Century.

"The training here is very intense. There are plenty of times throughout training when the improper mindset will put a student behind the curve," says Burnett, a 1993 graduate of Elwood (IN) Community High School.

The Navy-supported school trains close to 2,000 students each year from all branches of the service. Burnett, like his fellow classmates, volunteered for the difficult school for a reason.

"I joined EOD with the hope that I may make a strong contribution towards the safety of fellow warfighters, regardless of branch," said Burnett.

Burnett and his fellow EOD students say they feel that what they learn during this extensive training plays an important part of the life they will lead in the military, especially in danger spots like Iraq and Afghanistan.

"EOD is very important to the safety of the warfighter, in terms of providing an environment that is made as free of IEDs as possible," says Burnett.

"After attending the premier EOD training facility in the world, I believe that I will belong to the most prepared group of people in the in the world."

This story was written by Staff Sgt. Christopher Holmes of the Joint Hometown News Service.