Brooklyn resident represents 325,000- member Army National Guard in Explosive Ordnance Disposal competition

Sgt. Jesus Calixto took part in the All-Army Explosive Ordnance Team Competition held at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, April 21-26

Latham, NY (05/07/2024) — New York Army National Guard Sgt. Jesus Calixto, a resident of East 10th Street in Brooklyn competed in the All- Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team of the Year Competition held at Fort Liberty, North Carolina from April 21to 26.

Calixto and Sgt. 1st Class John Iseman from Delanson near Albany, represented the 325,000- member Army National Guard in the Army-wide competition. They competed against four other two man teams representing the Active Army and Army Reserve.

The two are assigned to the 1108th EOD Company located in Glenville, New York, just outside Schenectady.

"It means a great deal to the 1108th, but also to the New York National Guard for Sgt. 1st Class Iseman and Sgt. Calixto to participate in the All-Army EOD Team of the Year Competition," said Capt. Tyler Barnes, the commander of the 1108th.

There are 14 other EOD Companies in the National Guard across 11 states and 1 territory and this was the second year in a row that an EOD Team from the 1108th was selected to represent all National Guard EOD in the All-Army Competition," Barnes explained.

"To be considered to have the top EOD Team across the entire National Guard is a testament towards all the hard work of all of the Soldiers in the 1108th during our training year," he added.

The two Soldiers spent 20 days getting ready to compete against the Army's best EOD experts.

"An EOD technician is always training to stay proficient in our field, which can include training lanes at the unit or going to schools," Iseman said.

"The training included EOD training lanes, publication research, workouts, and rucks," Iseman said.

The EOD Team of the Year Competition is a long-standing tradition that tests EOD personal on fitness, technical/tactical skills, and explosive hazard mitigation capabilities in a variety of complex scenarios against emerging techniques, tactics, and procedures, according to the competition program, according to the event organizers.

During the training process they were able to study and run training lanes with their sponsor, they were also able to complete a few rucks and continuously work out each day to prepare physically, the two men said.

"As I have never worked with Sgt. 1st Class Iseman before as his team member, I feel that adaptability is important. As the days went on our teamwork was smoother and I was able to anticipate what equipment or gear to prepare," Calixto said.

The Army EOD teams completed a variety of scenarios, from completing live fire range, an all-night 12-mile ruck march, and responding to chemical ordnance and other explosive devices.

"The most difficult part of the competition was not getting enough sleep and being physically and mentally tired from multiple lanes a day, "Calixto said.

"We also had to load and unload all our gear and equipment every day," he added. "The last day we also had night lanes followed by an 8-mile ruck after being up for 24 hours."

Teams face a myriad of explosive hazards that represent the full range of EOD operations in support of large-scale combat operations and special operations.

Staff Sgt. Tyler Grieves and Sgt. Tristen Lindsey from Active Army's 760th Ordnance Disposal Company (EOD), a part of the 52nd Ordnance Group won the competition.

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