Defusing Bombs With the Real 'Hurt Locker' in Afghanistan

TUPAK, Afghanistan March 8, 2010 — -- Wrapped in purple and pink string, the bomb looked more like a piñata than a deadly weapon, but its contents left no question about its intent and target.

"What you have is probably 40 pounds of ammonium nitrate aluminium mix," said Army Sgt. First Class Christopher Millward shortly after he pulled the bomb out of a mountainside dirt road. "Things of that nature usually target coalition forces."

The chemicals were placed in a water cooler like those filled with lemonade on a hot summer's day. It was the first of two IED's, improvised explosive devices, that Millward would dismantle on a recent Saturday.

Millward is an Explosive Ordnance Disposal, or EOD, technician, the military's version of the bomb squad. The physical and emotional dangers and the job were portrayed in the hit movie "The Hurt Locker," which won the Best Movie oscar Sunday night.

Millward is the humble star of the real life Hurt Locker. He has worked with bombs for more than eight years, including during two tours in Iraq and now in the eastern part of Afghanistan.

He knows the dangers of his work intimately. He was caught in two major blasts in Iraq in 2007. The first was while working on dismantling a series IED's when one exploded, hurling fragmentation to his face and slicing apart his nose.

The second was much worse.

After his team came across a cache of bomb-making material, they began to remove it from a building. On what was likely his 36th trip into the site, the material exploded and Millward was caught in the blast. Part of his foot was blown off. He placed a tourniquet on it so he did not bleed to death. Eventually, part of his right leg was amputated.

Millward, the EOD team leader, has fought hard to return to his job and says there is nothing in the world he would rather do than dismantle bombs for a living. He acknowledges that it helps to be a little crazy to choose to work around bombs. A sense of humor helps, too.

On this recent Saturday, Millward's EOD team was working with a Route Clearance Patrol (RCP) in Lagman Province. RCP had received a call from Afghan National Police that an IED was found.