EOD technician presented Bronze Star

  • Published
  • By Lois Walsh
  • 96th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Technical Sgt. Kenneth Perry is the latest explosive ordnance disposal technician to be awarded a Bronze Star for exceptionally meritorious conduct while deployed to Iraq. Col. Eric Pohland, 96th Air Base Wing commander, presented the award to Sergeant Perry in a ceremony March 12. 

The Milan, Tenn., native has been an EOD technician since 2001. It's quite a change from his previous position as a physical therapy technician, a job he held for the first 11 years in the Air Force. Working with patients in the EOD career field influenced his desire to change careers. 

"What they did sounded interesting and challenging," he said. 

Sergeant Perry was indeed challenged as the team leader at Forward Operating Bases Warrior and Bernstein. He led a three-person team that executed 120 combat missions in six months, detonating 40 improvised explosive devices. Route clearances became routine as the teams pulled on-call responsibilities 24 hours a day for a week at a time. 

"There were days when we would just try to get a little sleep in between calls," Sergeant Perry said. 

During a routine route clearance mission enemy forces attempted to attack his convoy with an IED near Riyadh, Iraq. The lead vehicle moved up to investigate the suspect IED which was covered by an Iraqi uniform. The EOD team moved up to 40 meters behind the lead vehicle and the IED detonated while they were investigating. Sergeant Perry directed a secondary IED search and began instructing his team to prepare for a post blast analysis, which gained detailed insight into this insurgent tactic. 

On another occasion, Sergeant Perry and his team responded to conduct a post blast analysis of a roadside IED detonation that had killed five Iraqi Army personnel. During the PBA, intelligence from a local resident informed them that the person who planted the IED was in a nearby village. Sergeant Perry and his team moved to the village with an Army Quick Response Force and stood by with EOD support as the insurgent was taken into custody. 

This deployment was Sergeant Perry's first as a team leader; it was quite a change from his first deployment to Prince Saulton as a team member who provided force protection. He said the IED threat is really challenging to EOD because it is constantly evolving. 

"When you're the team leader, your decisions affect everyone," he said. "The lives of the team members are in your hands, you have to make the right decisions. The stress level keeps you on your toes; you can't let your guard down (because) anything can happen at any time."