3rd EOD Company, TMAC team up to destroy explosive remnants of war

U.S. Marines and Thai explosive ordnance disposal specialists have wrapped up a two-week bilateral training exercise at Thailand’s Phu Lam Yai Training Ground, culminating Sept. 4, 2026, with large-scale demolitions and a focus on sharpening joint interoperability.

Marines from the 3rd Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company, assigned to 9th Engineer Support Battalion, Combat Logistics Regiment 37, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, deployed from Okinawa to support the Royal Thai Armed Forces-hosted event, which reinforced III Marine Expeditionary Force’s operational readiness in the region. Over the course of the training, combined teams located and destroyed 10,511 explosive remnants of war recovered from Thailand’s border regions, accounting for 4,596 pounds of net explosive weight. Technicians also disassembled, analyzed, and deactivated 11 live ordnance items, converting them into inert training aids.

“Working with explosive remnants of war creates a more effective understanding of their key characteristics and realistic exposure to what EOD technicians will encounter during real-world operations,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Thomas Gary, an explosive ordnance disposal officer with 3rd EOD Company.

The U.S. Marine Corps and the Royal Thai Armed Forces have conducted bilateral EOD engagements and Humanitarian Mine Action missions since 2013, building a foundation for repeat iterations of training. U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Zach Lewis, an EOD technician with 3rd EOD Company, underscored the broader value of that continuity.

“It is important that we continue to foster a relationship with the Kingdom of Thailand and the Thai military because our strategic partnership fosters growth and development as a deterrent to other threat actors in the Pacific,” Lewis said. “I’ve learned that there are certain invaluable exchanges of experience that can only be achieved here in this environment.”

Thai police and military EOD teams trained side-by-side with Marines, exchanging tactics, techniques, and procedures in both conventional and binary demolition methods. Binary explosives are produced by combining two separate components that only become an explosive material once mixed, offering flexibility in constrained environments.

“Based on my experience as the police coordinator who has participated in joint training exercises with the U.S. Marines over the years in numerous locations, I have been very impressed by the friendship, openness, camaraderie, and strong sense of teamwork throughout our joint training,” said Royal Thai Provincial Police Sgt. Maj. Witit Selarak, an explosive ordnance disposal technician with the Thailand Mine Action Center. “The police teams have been able to observe and adapt these leadership practices to their own work in ways that are appropriate, effective, and consistent with operational requirements.”

Gary said the combined approach helped both sides refine safe, efficient methods for handling ordnance and adapting to logistical realities in the field. “We aim to learn from each other, build our skills, and develop safe and efficient methods for working with ordnance to ensure the safety of personnel and property,” Gary said. “Using both conventional and binary explosives during our training was a fantastic learning experience for our team. In a logistically constrained environment, finding alternative sources of demolition materials and employing them safely will be the key to accomplishing the mission.”