KADENA AIR BASE, Japan. -- Explosive ordnance technicians assigned to the 18th Civil Engineer Squadron worked with U.S. Navy specialists, honing their ability to safely clear a simulated flightline of unexploded ordnances during a routine readiness exercise at Kadena Air Base, May 6, 2025.
During the training, the Airmen and Sailors practiced completing post attack assessments and rapid, explicit hazard mitigation capabilities.
After passing over the affected area with the mass mechanical clearance front loaders, the EOD team neutralized the remaining munitions with simulated explosives.
“During this exercise, we were able to take the advantage of merging experiences between the Navy and Air Force,” said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Robert Hile, 18th CES EOD team lead. “This allows us to see the different ways we handle situations and figure out where we can cross pollinate from each other's tactics, techniques and procedures.”
Airmen with the 718th Civil Engineer Group accompanied the EOD team to refresh their knowledge of rapid airfield damage recovery techniques, simulating repairing areas destroyed by the munitions’ initial impact and smaller damages that occur while disposing of explosive ordnance.
RADR capabilities are necessary due to Kadena’s strategic position as a vital staging location for forces to deter regional adversaries and project U.S. airpower throughout the Indo-Pacific.
The exercise tests readiness across a wide spectrum of missions, with a focus on testing Airmen’s ability to rapidly deploy into joint force teams and sustain base operations under simulated combat conditions.
Learning from planned and executed operations, the 18th Wing will continue to flex its enhanced operational abilities to respond to real world scenarios as the Keystone of the Pacific.