Members of the Iraqi and U.S. Explosive Ordnance Disposal teams prepare discovered ordnance for detonation during a joint EOD controlled detonation recently in Basrah. The U.S. forces trained the Iraqi Army Soldiers on proper detonation procedures. Photo by Staff Sgt. Carlos Burger, 2nd Brigade Combat Team.

Before the two teams could perform a joint controlled detonation, they had the daunting task of identifying and inventorying every round.

The EOD teams cataloged more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition; the majority being high explosive, armor-piercing rounds, said Navy Lt. Joe Morgan, EOD Mobile Unit 5.

According to 1st Lt. Kyle Huss, a platoon leader with the 8th Infantry Regiment, it's imperative to teach the Iraqi Army (IA) EOD teams to dispose of ordnance before the Coalition forces depart the country. 

"We have to be sure the Iraqi Security Forces are capable of dealing with problems like this by themselves," Huss said. "There is a lot of unexploded ordnance in Iraq and much of it is unstable and dangerous. It's really important to teach them how to not only find this stuff, but how to safely inventory and dispose of it."

Morgan, who has worked with EOD operations for two years, thinks each detonation contributes to the overall security of Iraq.

"The best part is seeing bad stuff go away [that] doesn't fall into the wrong hands," he said.

Huss added that the IA seemed poised to perform its own EOD operations in the near future.

"They seem to be very capable of running unilateral missions," Huss said. "They probably could have done this mission themselves if they had the resources, which is something we're working on."