MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Iwakuni Marines and Sailors train in areas that span from the cold, mountainous regions of Korea to the dusty outback of Australia.
Spread out between those regions are the sites of many battles which inevitably have dangerous reminders of war - unexploded ordnance. That danger is still present after decades of rusting, so service members need to be aware of what they decide to pick up and leave alone.
"Weapons of war are destructive and violent by nature," said Lt. Col. Thomas Abel, Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron commanding officer. "Their purpose is to be used on the battlefield. Unexploded ordnance belongs on the battlefield or in the hands of competent Explosive Ordnance Disposal authorities."
While deployed to exercises throughout the Pacific, Marines and Sailors may stumble across unexploded ordnance. How they deal with it can make all the difference in their lives.
Marines and Sailors are warned to take several precautions when encountering unexploded ordnance.
"If they believe they have a piece of ordnance or explosives, mark it and have everyone stay away from it," said Staff Sgt. Gary Saiki, EOD technician. "If they have EOD deployed with them, they can come by and either recover it or mark it until the unit leaves and render it safe."
Saiki stressed that service members should never attempt to bring ordnance back with them.
"If you bring back a piece of ordnance onto an aircraft, that aircraft is considered government property, and it's a felony to transport explosives illegally," said Saiki. "It is a court-martialable offense for military personnel. Also, children have been hurt in the past by things people have brought back from deployments and kept in their homes."
The kinds of ordnance remaining are diverse, from the very small to the very large.
"During the World War II island-hopping campaign, the U.S. and Japanese used a lot of ordnance, a lot of it from ships and aircraft," said Saiki. "Everything from small bomblettes to very large bombs were used."
Even rounds used in small arms can contain unexploded ordnance.
"When people hear about gun rounds, they only think of metal bullets," said Saiki. "But throughout history, some of those rounds have had explosives and incendiary mixtures put inside of them."
Everyone should keep in mind that sometimes the ordnance might not be recognizable as a threat at all.
"In the condition they are in today, a lot of them would seem like a rusted clump of dirt, and wouldn't seem much like a piece of ordinance," said Saiki. "However, some of them still contain explosives, and they can even be more dangerous in the state they are in. Some of the Japanese rounds contain picric acid, which crystallizes over time, and is even more dangerous in its crystal form."
Although everyone likes to bring back a souvenir of their travels to exotic locations, it is far better to come home with several knickknacks than a few less fingers, or worse.
For more information on unexploded ordnance or to report the finding of a piece of ordnance call at Provost Marshal's Office at 253-3303 or Explosive Ordnance Disposal at 253-3578.