{"id":47602,"date":"2020-06-19T19:26:24","date_gmt":"2020-06-19T19:26:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/06\/19\/guard-unit-that-lost-eod-troop-in-afghanistan-faced-funding-constraints-and-time-consuming-request-process\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:57:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:57:12","slug":"guard-unit-that-lost-eod-troop-in-afghanistan-faced-funding-constraints-and-time-consuming-request-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2020\/06\/19\/guard-unit-that-lost-eod-troop-in-afghanistan-faced-funding-constraints-and-time-consuming-request-process\/","title":{"rendered":"Guard unit that lost EOD troop in Afghanistan faced \u2018funding constraints\u2019 and \u2018time-consuming request process\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An investigation into the 2018 death of an Army EOD tech<\/a> in Helmand province, Afghanistan<\/a>, found that his unit faced equipping and funding issues prior to deployment, and the company command team had to go to great lengths to resolve those problems before arriving downrange.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The investigation also found that U.S. troops out of Camp Dwyer<\/a> had patrolled in the vicinity of a fatal Oct. 4, 2018 bomb attack 19 times in the three months before the mission, giving the Taliban an idea of where the Americans would eventually drive their armored vehicles. The investigation was obtained by Army Times through a Freedom of Information Act request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though the soldiers had been tracing their patrol routes to ensure they didn\u2019t revisit the same passages, the investigation recommended they expand that practice to ensure they\u2019re not setting patterns in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sgt. James Slape<\/a> died while clearing a safe path around a disabled MaxxPro vehicle<\/a> that had hit an improvised explosive device on a ridge earlier in the day. There was a group of stranded U.S. troops still inside when Slape arrived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 23-year-old EOD tech used a CEIA v2 counter-IED device while sweeping around the vehicle, but the \u201cloose soil with large rocks underneath can reduce the effectiveness\u201d of the equipment, an investigating officer wrote. The soldiers likely encountered several pressure-plate IEDs and small anti-personnel mines in what award citations later described as a minefield<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before they deployed, the North Carolina National Guard\u2019s 430th Ordnance Company faced some resource challenges, which \u201cstemmed from funding constraints within the National Guard and a time-consuming request process,\u201d the investigator wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During a mission readiness exercise at Camp Blanding, Florida, the Guardsmen used training aids from previous exercises and had to personally purchase their own materials, including wood, wire and electrical tape, to build mock IEDs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cContractor support to build training aids was not provided,\u201d the investigator wrote. \u201cIt is unclear if the funding was denied or if the request for funds was not approved in time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The investigator added, however, that the deploying troops\u2019 command team \u201censured the company was properly trained despite the various resource constraints they encountered,\u201d citing multiple weeks-long courses the unit attended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Sgt. James Slape died Oct. 4, 2018, in Afghanistan from wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device. (Army)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There were other issues stateside, though. The 430th\u2019s equipment was outdated, the investigator wrote. The unit was approved to purchase the most current counter-IED devices available as they prepared for deployment, but that was under their Title 32 authorities. Once the company was activated for deployment, funding then resided under Title 10 authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a Kafkaesque reversal, the new authorities voided the unit\u2019s previous request. But with support from Naval EOD and in-theater equipment stocks, the 430th was able to obtain the latest counter-IED equipment, including Minehound VMR2s and CEIA v2s, upon arrival to Afghanistan, according to the investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

None of those issues were cited as having played a role in Slape\u2019s death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The EOD tech was part of a quick reaction force dispatched to the ridge miles from Camp Dwyer after a 20-ton MaxxPro on patrol struck an IED. That patrol, which had been trying to intercept insurgent radio traffic, could not self-recover the vehicle, activating Slape\u2019s unit just before 10 a.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The troops in the damaged MaxxPro were told to stay in place until the area around their vehicle was cleared \u2014 Slape\u2019s job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Soldiers with the North Carolina National Guard carry the remains of Sgt. James Slape during his memorial service in Morehead City, Nov. 11, 2018. (Staff Sgt. Mary Junell\/Army)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The task was to clear an evacuation path for those stuck inside the damaged vehicle, and Slape was considered a subject matter expert on handheld counter-IED devices. He had conducted 28 patrols during the deployment and taught more than 300 personnel how to use counter-IED devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During his slow and deliberate clearance, Slape struck what was suspected to have been a small anti-personnel mine, due to the lack of a post-blast crater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Immediately after the detonation, several soldiers rushed through uncleared terrain to recover the gravely wounded EOD tech and began placing IV lines, tourniquets and a needle chest decompression into him. He was medically evacuated by helicopter to Camp Dwyer only 32 minutes after the blast, but was declared deceased at the Role II facility there roughly an hour later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was no physical evidence left from the IED blasts to determine the exact types of devices, \u201cnor was there any evidence of command wire,\u201d the investigator wrote. Additionally, \u201cthere is no way to determine when the IEDs were inserted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because the soldiers had jammers on to mitigate radio-controlled IED detonations, Slape\u2019s comrades at the 430th concluded that the first bomb encountered was likely a low-metallic signature pressure-plate located directly on top of a 25-pound explosive charge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen pressure plates are placed directly on the explosives (compared to an offset placement), there is minimal evidence available to collect after an explosion,\u201d the investigator wrote.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sgt. James Slape died while clearing a safe path around a disabled MaxxPro vehicle that had hit an improvised explosive device.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":10440,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":70,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["your-military","news","middle-column","home","disaster"],"primary_category":"your-military"}}},"categories":[100,22,23,92,12,25,70],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3385],"class_list":["post-47602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-disaster","category-home","category-left-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-army"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"2RQUO6EBQRELVA4OPIJAUFJOV4","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-army\/2020\/06\/19\/guard-unit-that-lost-eod-troop-in-afghanistan-faced-funding-constraints-and-time-consuming-request-process\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\nGuard unit that lost EOD troop in Afghanistan faced \u2018funding constraints\u2019 and \u2018time-consuming request process\u2019 - Army Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sgt. 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