For those of you who have read through the series, you know in the back of Dark Horse is this explanation of why I chose to make my character, Ryan Weller and some of his associates U.S. Navy EOD team members.
Number one I was in the world’s greatest Navy from November 1997 to August of 2001 when I was medically discharged, so I’m partial to the Navy and was a third generation sailor, following the footsteps of my father and grandfather. Dad was a gunners mate and Grandpa a fire control technician (he fired guns) on the U.S.S. Amsterdam during World War Two.
I was first introduced to Navy EOD as a twenty-one-year-old boot camp attendee. I found a flyer on our ship’s (that’s what we called barracks) bulletin board bearing their insignia, a World War II bomb, nose down in front of crossed lightning bolts on a shield with laurel wreaths curling up from the bottom on both sides. Known as “The Crab,” the service badge is issued to members of every military branch after they graduate from the Naval School Explosive Ordnance Disposal at Eglin Air Force Base. The flyer detailed the physical requirements as well as the job description. It fascinated me.
I went on to aviation electronics technician (AT) A-school and then to helicopter squadron HM-14, whose primary job was, and still is, underwater mine countermeasures. This placed me in close contact with EOD, because of their continued work with underwater mines. The squadron deployed to the USS Bonhomme Richard, and we had a detachment of EOD guys across from our work center. Those guys were super fit, highly intelligent individuals who always had a kind word and invited me to volunteer. I confess, I liked my job as an AT and had no desire to do all the physical training required. On a deployment to Bahrain, I, again, interacted with the EOD support detachment. They believed they were the best of the best, the elite of the Navy. And rightly so. EOD accounts for less than three percent of all U.S. Navy active duty and reserve sailors. That number gets even more important when we look at the EOD school’s fifty- to seventy-percent attrition rate.
When I sat down to write Ryan Weller’s character, I wanted him to be something other than a SEAL. Everyone has a SEAL as his/her protagonist. I wanted something different, and EOD traditionally flies under the radar. Especially Navy EOD. They are the only EOD techs service wide who operate both above and below the water and were for a time the only EOD units qualified to deploy with Special Forces.
Until combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, not much had been written about the EOD community and the one movie Hollywood had made was highly inaccurate in the depiction of an EOD tech’s life and work. I’ve read all I could get my hands on, especially about who these men and women are, their training, and their time in service. Some of the best knowledge came from technical white papers and war college master’s theses. I also talked to men who had served as EOD. They were an invaluable resource. Thanks to everyone who shared their stories with me. I’m always touched and humbled by these brave men and women who place their lives on the line that others might be saved. Thank you for your service.
I tried to get my character right, but this is a work of fiction, and Ryan is infinitely cooler than I’ll ever be, partly because I can take all day to think about his dialogue and witty comebacks. Forgive me if I got parts wrong, or I represented something as it shouldn’t be.
Check out The EOD Warrior Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to help EOD warriors, their family members, and the families of fallen EOD warriors. Specific programs include emergency financial relief, college scholarships, hope and wellness retreats, and care of the EOD Memorial located at Eglin AFB, Florida.
