On order, the 71st Ordnance Group (EOD) deploys and conducts operations in support of the Combatant Commanders or other government agencies to counter chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives and weapons of mass destruction threats.
Col. David K. Green, Group Commander
Col. David K. Green enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1985 and served in the 3rd Infantry Division in West Germany and was later commissioned through the Reserve Officer Training Corps at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky.
He holds master's degrees in education from Kansas State University and Strategic Studies from the Air War College. His military education includes Infantry Officer Basic Course, Combined Logistics Officer Advanced Course, Combined Arms and Services Staff School, Naval School Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Advanced EOD Management and Technology Course, Advanced Access and Disablement EOD Course, Joint Nuclear EOD Course, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and the Air War College.
His principle staff assignments have been deputy J3 and XVIII Airborne Corps LNO, Combined Joint Task Force Troy, Baghdad, Iraq; executive officer, 184th Ordnance Battalion (EOD) and JTF Paladin-East, Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan; deputy commanding officer, 52nd Ordnance Group (EOD), Fort Campbell, Kentucky; G3 chief of plans, 20th CBRNE Command, Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland. His key command and leadership assignments have been rifle platoon leader, 1st Platoon, Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, Fort Campbell, Kentucky; commander, 716th Ordnance Company (EOD), Fort Richardson, Alaska; commander, 184th Ordnance Battalion (EOD) and JTF Paladin-East, Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan; commander, 79th Ordnance Battalion (EOD), Fort Hood, Texas; and director, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command Capabilities Manager - Explosive Ordnance Disposal (TCM EOD), Fort Lee, Virginia.
Green's decorations and awards include the Bronze Star, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with five oak leaf clusters, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal (second award), Afghanistan Campaign Medal with service star, Iraq Campaign Medal with two service stars, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Korea Defense Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon (fourth award), NATO Service Medal, Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Meritorious Unit Commendation, Master EOD Badge, Air Assault Badge and Parachutist Badge.
Command Sgt. Maj. David John Silva
Command Sgt. Maj. David John Silva is from in Long Beach, California. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Aug. 17, 1993. After completing One Station Unit Training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, he was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 13B, cannon crewmember. After Airborne School he served in 1st Battalion, 39th Field Artillery Regiment (Airborne). Silva volunteered for explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) training in 1996, and in 1997 graduated from Naval School Explosive Ordnance Disposal, attaining the basic EOD badge and MOS 55D.
Silva’s assignments include EOD team member and team leader, 748th Ordnance Company (EOD), Fort Jackson, South Carolina; EOD team leader and platoon sergeant, 38th Ordnance Company (EOD), Fort Stewart, Georgia; Weapons of Mass Destruction Coordination Element (WCE) operations NCO, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland; first sergeant, 706th Ordnance Company (EOD) and 74th Ordnance Company (EOD), Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; operations NCO in charge of the 3rd Ordnance Disposal Battalion (EOD); and Task Force EOD Operation Inherent Resolve command sergeant major, Kuwait, Iraq and Syria. Silva’s previous assignment was command sergeant major for the 79th Ordnance Battalion (EOD) at Fort Riley, Kansas.
Silva’s deployments include Operations Desert Thunder and Desert Fox in 1998; Operation Enduring Freedom in 2002; Iraqi Freedom in 2003, 2005 and 2006-08; Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in 2010-11; and Operation Inherent Resolve in 2017-18 as a task force command sergeant major.
Silva’s military education includes 13B One Station Unit Training, Airborne School, Naval School Explosive Ordnance Disposal Course, Radiological Emergency Team Operations (RETOPS), Advance Access and Disablement Course, Humanitarian Demining Course, First Sergeant’s Course, Global Anti-Terror Operators Course, all levels of NCO Education System, and is a graduate of the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy Resident Course. He holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Liberal Arts from Excelsior College and is in pursuit of his Master of Science Degree in Business Management.
Silva’s awards include the Bronze Star Medal (fourth award), Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (third award), Army Commendation Medal (seventh award), Army Achievement Medal (third award), Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Meritorious Unit Citation, Army Good Conduct Medal (eighth award), National Defense Ribbon with bronze service star, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with bronze service star, Afghan Campaign Medal with campaign star, Iraq Campaign Medal with four campaign stars, Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terror Service Medal, NCO Professional Development Ribbon (fifth award), Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon (second award), NATO Medal, Combat Action Badge, Basic Parachutist Badge, Master Explosive Ordnance Disposal Badge and Drivers Badge.
The 71st Ordnance Group (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) “Raptors” is one of two explosive ordnance disposal groups in the United States Army. On order, the group deploys and conducts operations in support of the combative commanders or other government agencies to counter chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives (CBRNE) and weapon of mass destruction threats.
The 71st OD GP (EOD) was activated and redesignated as an EOD group at Fort Carson Oct. 16, 2005, at which time the Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment was swiftly positioned to deploy in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as the Combined Joint Task Force Troy; earning the organization two Joint Meritorious Unit Awards for combating counter improvised explosive devices and proving resoluteness in defeating the enemy’s primary weapon of choice throughout the operation. The 71st Ordnance Group recently returned from deployment to Operation Enduring Freedom serving as Combined Joint Task Force Paladin. Its mission was to train the force, defeat the device, attack the network and enable justice. CJTF Paladin managed the U.S. EOD assets and coordinated with multinational EOD assets throughout Afghanistan.
The official lineage of the 71st Ordnance Group (EOD) was firmly planted on the European battlefront of World War II. The Group was constituted in the U.S. Army on July 17, 1944, and formally activated July 23, 1944, in France. The unit saw service in the European theater of operations earning campaign streamers for Normandy, Northern France, the Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace and Central Europe before its deactivation in June 1946 in Germany. From there, the unit was transferred to the Reserves and underwent several reorganizations and redesignations, ending as the 361st Ordnance Group. In March 1947 the unit activated in the Ready Reserves until April 1954 when it once again inactivated. One year later, the group returned to the regular Army and activated May 13, 1955, in Germany as the 71st Ordnance Group until it inactivated June 1959. The 71st Ordnance Group remained inactive until it was reactivated December 1962 in Korea and inactivated Jan. 1, 1966, in the Republic of Korea.
The 71st Ordnance Group (EOD) is one of two active-duty EOD groups in the U.S. Army and has an additional responsibility to support U.S. Northern Command as a homeland defense asset. With the largest concentration of EOD Soldiers in the Army, the group consists of the headquarters, three subordinate battalions, and a weapons of mass destruction (WMD) company. The group’s subordinate units are positioned strategically across the area of operations to provide timely EOD support.
EOD Basic Badge
EOD Master Badge
EOD Senior Badge
The wreath is symbolic of the achievements and laurels gained by minimizing accident potentials, through the ingenuity and devotion to duty of its members. It is in memory of the EOD personnel who have given their lives while performing EOD duties.
The bomb was copied from the design of the World War II Bomb Disposal Badge; the bomb represents the historic and major objective of the EOD attack, the unexploded bomb. The three fins represent the major areas of nuclear, conventional, and chemical/biological warfare.
The lightning bolts symbolize the potential destructive power of the bomb and the courage and professionalism of EOD personnel in their endeavors to reduce hazards as well as to render hazards as well as to render explosive ordnance harmless.
The shield represents the EOD mission which is to protect personnel and property in the immediate area from an inadvertent detonation of hazardous ordnance.
Red (crimson) and gold (yellow) are the colors traditionally used by Army Ordnance. Red is also the color of the Meritorious Unit Commendation awarded the unit in World War II.
The lightning bolt adapted from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Badge, recognizes boldness and rapid response.
The fleur-de-lis refers to the unit's history of being activated in France.
The drawn sword symbolizes the group's readiness to engage in battle.
The five stars commemorate the organization's five campaigns from World War II and the following five core missions of the 71st Ordnance: Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and High Yield Explosives (CBRNE).
Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment
Fort Carson, CO
24 hour response line: 719-524-3173
242d Ordnance Battalion EOD
Fort Carson, CO
24 hour response line: 719-526-2833
3rd Ordnance Battalion EOD
Fort Lewis, WA
24 hour response line: 253-548-5344
79th Ordnance Battalion EOD
Fort Riley, KS
Kirtland Air Force Base, NM
24 hour response line: 505-853-7263