INDIAN HEAD, Md. ─ The Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Bill Moran presided over a ceremony establishing Expeditionary Exploitation Unit ONE, EXU-1, as a stand-alone command onboard Naval Support Facility Indian Head today.
"We are here today to establish [EXU-1] as an official Navy command. This means we have trust, faith and confidence in you [Cmdr. Myers], as well as the men and women under your command who we entrust to get the job done." Moran said. "It also reminds us why we participate in freedom and democracy, why we bear true faith and allegiance. I salute you all and I am honored to be part of this ceremony."
Established in 2006 as a detachment under what is now known as the Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division, the detachment’s growth, increased responsibilities, proven capability and actionable contributions to combatant commanders and partner nations on battlefields across the globe led to the Secretary of the Navy’s approval in March 2017 to establish EXU-1 as an Echelon V Command, culminating in today’s formal establishment ceremony. The ceremony also included the official disestablishment of the detachment.
“In this ceremony, EXU-1 will become not just a one-of-a-kind command within NAVSEA – or within the Navy – but, within the entirety of the Department of Defense. It is indeed rare; it is indeed valuable,” said NSWC Indian Head EOD Technology Division Commanding Officer Capt. Scott Kraft.
Cmdr. Matthew Myers, EXU-1’s inaugural commanding officer, will lead the command’s current mission to collect, process, exploit and analyze improvised and conventional weapons, ordnance and components, on land and at sea, to provide near real-time technical intelligence to tactical commanders, the EOD community, service components, DoD, national-level intelligence agencies, and allied and partner nations.
“I take great pride in being present on this important day in the history of EXU-1 and Indian Head,” said Commander, Naval Surface Warfare Center Rear Adm. Thomas J. Anderson. “I thank the extraordinary team of Sailors, both active and reserve, civilians and contractors of EXU-1 for all you do for our Navy and our nation. You are true professionals when and where it counts.”
EXU-1 is comprised of nine officers, 42 enlisted Sailors, and 30 civilian personnel, and provides globally deployable units of action tailored to meet operational fleet requirements. The command supports tactical and operational expeditionary missions to include mine countermeasure operations, surface and underwater post-blast investigations, special operations forces targeting, electronic engineering and forensic exploitation, advanced radiography and ordnance disassembly, and technical intelligence reach-back functions.
EXU-1’s dedicated professionals are forward deployed in seven foreign countries and one U.S. territory, covering exploitation requirements in Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Fleets. Though modern capabilities have evolved significantly since the early days of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, the mission remains the same, “Defeat the Device, Attack the Network, and Train the Force.”
NSWC IHEODTD - a field activity of the Naval Sea Systems Command and part of the Navy's Science and Engineering Enterprise - is the leader in ordnance, energetics, and EOD solutions. The Division focuses on energetics research, development, testing, evaluation, in-service support, and disposal; and provides warfighters solutions to detect, locate, access, identify, render safe, recover, exploit, and dispose of explosive ordnance threats.