Anyone have an info on being a UXO (Unexploded Ordnance) tech? ?

Question

I currently work HAZMAT in Iraq, but am thinking of taking a UXO class offered at Texas A&M . Has anyone taken this class? Its expensive and I was wondering what the fail rate is and what is covered. How is the job outlook after graduating? Any info please, thanks........

Answer 1

The only thing i know is that they're really busy when they're in country. We'd sometimes wait 5-6 hours for them to come. Then when they got there it was a bag of potatoes that some joker Iraqi left on the side of the road.

Answer 2

Don't know what the failure rate at A&M is, but I know the results of failure in the real world are permanent.  "Dearly beloved we are gathered here today to remember....."  As likely as not, your casket will include the mop and bucket used to clean up the results.

You need nerves of steel to succeed in that field.  While the rush you get from success is probably better than s*x and only surpassed by the rush of firewalling the throttles of a fighter jet, the psychological load is incredible.  The job prospects are good and the pay is high in the civil sector.  On balance, forget about life insurance unless your employer self-insures.  The pressure was too much for me; I had to quit.

You will learn one thing without question though:  The WTC really was brought down by a couple of airliners and the resulting fire.  You will learn the complexities of controlled demolition and will forever know instinctively that the conspiracy theorists are clueless.

Answer 3

I am not sure what the failure rate for that class is but I do know that the one the the Air Force operates had a 56% failure rate at one point.  Most people don't have high enough test scores to qualify for it and it was forty-six weeks long.  Many of the UXO in Iraq are civilian contractors employed by Halaburton.  When I went to Level III Anti-terrorism training in 96 one of the exercises involved this.  They would take someones car in the parking lot and rig it with all kinds of things.  Nobody could find all the wires, pressure sensitive devices and little do-dads that would have set off a bomb if it had been for real which is one of the reasons why you leave such things to the experts.