“The morning sky over Sahl Sinjar, Iraq, is barely lit by the sun, which has not yet broken past the horizon as most Marines throughout the forward operating base are getting their final moments of sleep. Meanwhile, a Marine explosive ordnance disposal technician sits on the back steps of a mine resistant ambush protected vehicle parked in the sand near a desolate stretch of road aboard the base. The road will soon be used by various convoys of vehicles moving troops and equipment as the day goes on, but first the Marine gets suited up in an EOD bomb suit and the stretch of road will be the scene of a new world record.
Staff Sgt. Jeremy Herbert, the explosive ordnance technician team leader for Marine Wing Support Squadron 271, Sahl Sinjar detachment, surpassed the previous world record time for a one-mile run in a bomb suit aboard Sahl Sinjar Sept. 1, 2009, to raise awareness for the EOD Memorial Foundation and fallen service members.
“Since I have been an EOD technician, 10 EOD techs that I have personally known, either through training or working with them, have died trying to render safe explosive hazards,” said Herbert. “I think this was a good way to honor them and honor their memory … by doing something challenging that requires hard work and dedication to accomplish.”
Herbert first heard of the EOD bomb suit world record run in February when Navy Lt. Jonathon Kehoe set the original record at 10:13 for the same cause while serving in Iraq. Herbert said he decided to take on the challenge as soon as he read about the world record. He began training for the run when he arrived aboard Sahl Sinjar in April. The record didn’t sound hard to Herbert at first, that is until his first attempt clocked in at 14 minutes.
“That was when I realized how much work and dedication I was going to have to put into it,” explained Herbert.
To train for the one-mile bomb suit run, Herbert did some sort of physical activity twice a day. He practiced running in the bomb suit a couple times throughout the week. His fellow EOD technicians trained with him as often as they could to keep him motivated.
“Our normal training in the suit is just simple tasks and movements like picking things up and walking around, so being able to run a mile in it is phenomenal,” said Sgt. James Chintala, an EOD technician with MWSS-271, Sahl Sinjar Det., who trained with Herbert since June.
Chintala said Marines and sailors aboard the base began to take notice of the training and would often ask about Herbert’s progress or show up to the bomb suit practice runs to run alongside him for support.
“I was the guy running it, but I couldn’t have done it without the Marines and sailors who helped motivate me and trained alongside me,” said Herbert.
Herbert crossed the finish line in the nearly 80 pound bomb suit and helmet at a world record time of 9:58.8, surpassing the previous record by approximately 15 seconds – taking the weight of the challenge off his shoulders.
“We didn’t all contribute to this to say ‘hey, we beat the other guy’s time,’ it was to raise the bar and gain that much more recognition for the EOD memorial,” explained Chintala.
Herbert said that a lot of relief came after he finished the race. A group of fellow service members crowded at the finish line and congratulated his accomplishment. He took in deep breaths and focused on the true reason for why he was doing this – the EOD Memorial Foundation.
Herbert is now working to be the first person to do the one-mile bomb suit run for official record with the Guinness Book of World Records.
The EOD Memorial is located aboard Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.”
Source: USMC website
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