Including the chickens.

Owners of a home in Brownsville, about 100 miles northwest of Fort Hood, discovered one of the mines in a dirt road, according to a news release from 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives Command. Members of the 47th and 75th EOD companies, both part of 79th EOD Battalion, responded to the report, finding a World War II-vintage M6 anti-tank mine and a practice M1B1 mine that had already gone off.

Photo Credit: Courtesy photo EOD Duty Officer 1st Lt. Brian A. Cowick from the 47th EOD Company evacuates chickens from a barn prior to a controlled detonation of a World War II era landmine in Brownwood, Texas, Feb. 11.

1st Lt. Brian A. Cowick, with 47th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company, 79th EOD Battalion, evacuates chickens from a Texas barn prior to a controlled detonation of an anti-tank mine on Feb. 11.

Photo Credit: Courtesy photo via Army

The M6 "had been shot numerous times over the years," 1st Lt. Brian Cowick, operations officer with the 47th, said in the release. That damage, plus the effects of time, rendered the mine unstable.

A thermite charge would take care of the explosives in the mine, and a controlled detonation would take care of the rest, according to the release, but not before the area was secure.

This involved the creation of a bunker with nearly 2,000 sand bags and the evacuation of the area, including the removal of chickens from a nearby barn and a dog from a nearby backyard.

Last fiscal year, soldiers with 20th CBRNE responded to more than 2,000 unexploded-ordnance calls in the U.S., both on and off military bases, the release said. Along with this Texas incident, CBRNE calls in 2015 included rendering safe a Civil War-era cannonball found in the chimney of a Washington, D.C., row home.

Share:
In Other News
Load More