Delanson Resident Competes in All-Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team Contest

New York Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class John Iseman was one of two Soldiers representing the entire Army National Guard during the April 21-26 contest

Latham, NY (05/07/2024) — New York Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class John Iseman, a Delanson resident, competed in the All- Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team of the Year Competition that took place April 21-26 at Fort Liberty, North Carolina.

Iseman and Sgt. Jesus Calixto were one of 5 teams of two Soldiers that represented the entire 325,000-Soldier Army National Guard during the Army-wide competition.

Iseman and Calixto are assigned to the 1108th Ordnance Company (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) which is based at the Armed Forces Reserve Center in Glenville.

"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.

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.

"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.

"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.

The things that we learned at the competition will be passed on to the team that competes in next years' event, he added.

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.

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.

There is a massive amount of value that participating in the competition brings. Not just from the lessons learned but also from the relationships created during the event, Barnes said.

The EOD community is very small and success is greatly enhanced from the sharing of information, Barnes said.

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