EOD...

Navy EOD forces are trained and equipped to deal with explosive threats ranging from unexploded sub munitions to improvised weapons of mass destruction. Navy EOD forces operate wherever these threats are located and present an obstacle to naval and joint operations. They conduct their mission in a multitude of tactical environments - on the battlefield, in minefields, underwater, on land, in urban settings, and on board ships, to name but a few.

Navy EOD has a critical role in enabling Special Operations Forces (SOF) mission accomplishment. EOD provides Navy and Army SOF with capabilities to prosecute weapons of mass destruction and terrorist devices. EOD forces also enable their movement through hazardous battlefield environments, which may include mines, unexploded ordnance, booby-traps, or improvised explosive ordnance devices.Underwater Mine Countermeasures (UMCM) is a mission area often associated with Navy EOD. Eight Mobile Companies are dedicated to the UMCM mission. EOD forces possess the Navy's only mine countermeasure capability in the very shallow water zone (depths of 10 to 40 feet). To this end they maintain three uniquely capable marine mammal systems for worldwide contingency employment.

Navy EOD forces also support a range of federal agencies. They assist the U.S. Secret Service in protecting the President, Vice President, and their spouses. They support the Department of State in providing protection for the Secretary of State and foreign dignitaries. They also assist various federal agencies during National Security Special Events such as presidential conventions and the Olympics. They accomplish this by performing key tasks that include initial detection of explosive hazards, intelligence exploitation, neutralization, and disposal. Moreover, Navy EOD is the only force within the Department of Defense that has these capabilities against the full range of threats in all environments.

Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technicians render safe all types of ordnance, both conventional and unconventional, improvised, chemical, biological, and nuclear to include Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). They perform land and underwater location, identification, render-safe, and recovery (or disposal) of foreign and domestic ordnance. They conduct demolition of hazardous munitions, pyrotechnics, and retrograde explosives using detonation and burning techniques. They forward deploy and fully integrate with the various Combatant Commanders, Special Operations Force (SOF), and various warfare units within the Navy, Marine Corps, and Army. They are also called upon to support military and civilian law enforcement agencies.

EOD Technicians’ missions take them to all environments, every climate, in every part of the world. They have many assets available to arrive to their mission, from open and closed-circuit scuba and surface-supplied diving rigs, to parachute insertion from fixed-wing and and fast-rope, rappel, and Special Purpose Insertion Extraction (SPIE) from rotary aircraft, to small boats and tracked vehicles.

The "crab," as it is commonly known, is the only joint service badge and can only be earned upon successful completion of The Naval School of Explosive Ordnance Disposal.
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 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.
THE STAR in the middle of the bomb represents a Technician who has attained Senior EOD competency. The star in the middle of the badge, coupled with the miniature wreath and star at the top of the badge represent an EOD Technician who has attained Master EOD competency.