Background
With Veteran’s Day taking place this month we are on a mission to honor the holiday with more than a sale on cars or a calendar reminder. Each week we are going to be highlighting a different veteran in our network with the hope that their stories will help personalize the holiday for our readers and make Veteran’s Day and the entire month of November more meaningful.
The Right Man for the Job
Don Weakley remains incredibly composed as he recalls a war story that would make most of us shudder. “I actually stepped on a Russian landmine during my time in Afghanistan, but I got lucky because whoever placed it forgot to pull out the arming pin, so it didn’t go off,” he recounts as calmly as if he was telling you what he ate for lunch. “I kept the mine as a reminder of how lucky I got that day,” he adds. But it wasn’t just luck that helped the former Explosive Ordnance Disposal Commander successfully destroy thousands of explosive ordnances like mines and Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) throughout Afghanistan and Iraq. Even over the phone, Don’s calm and collected disposition will sweep over you providing the seemingly obvious and reassuring realization that his temperament is exactly what you would want in a man who diffused explosives for a living. It’s Don’s ability to remain completely unflustered by tense situations (and maybe a little luck) that allowed him to successfully destroy over 680 IEDs, 120 of which he destroyed by himself.
The Most Dangerous Job in the Military
Don didn’t grow up with the goal of doing what he dubs “the most dangerous job in the military;” he didn’t even have that in mind when he entered the military. In 1992 he joined the Air Force ROTC with hopes of becoming a pilot but, after being told there were too many pilots, Don pivoted and joined the Army ROTC where he eventually became an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Officer. Don admits that he didn’t know much about EOD specialists before becoming one. The Army defines an EOD specialist as the Army's preeminent tactical and technical explosives experts. They are warriors who are properly trained, equipped, and integrated to attack, defeat, and exploit unexploded ordnance, improvised explosive devices, and weapons of mass destruction. In other words, think of Jeremy Renner’s character in the movie, Hurt Locker. Prior to the United States’ recent conflicts in the Middle East, much of what EOD specialists did was largely unknown even to many in the Army. However, the unique guerrilla nature of conflicts in the Middle East has brought EOD specialists to the front of the battle as they are forced to deal with the increasingly large number of mines and IEDs used against U.S. and allied forces.
As an EOD Commander, Don was part of the first wave of U.S. Soldiers that went over to Afghanistan in 2002. In a perfect example of just how dangerous the EOD specialist’s job is, Don found himself trying to navigate Russian minefields leftover from the Soviet Union’s occupation. “The Russians had completely carpet-bombed the area as they retreated,” Don recalls. “You couldn’t drive 500 feet without seeing some type of ordnance. Many of them were too close to buildings or on an airfield so they had to be individually disarmed instead of blown up.” Don estimates there were over 40,000 landmines at Bagram Air Field alone, including the one that could have taken his life. When I asked if he ever worried about a call being his last or if he ever got nervous, Don’s response was “no, I didn’t really think about that. I just trusted my training and knew what I had to do.”
The 911 Call for Explosives
Don recalls the Middle East being so inundated with explosive ordnances that EOD experts essentially became the 911 call for explosives, not just from other soldiers, but from locals as well. In fact, Don estimates that about 30% of the calls they received in Iraq and Afghanistan came from locals who had come across some type of explosive. He reflects on a particularly memorable story that seems to perfectly illustrate just how besieged the area was with explosives.
“During my time in Afghanistan, we got a call that there was a potential mine in a local soccer field. When we showed up at the field, there were a bunch of kids who couldn’t have been older than 8 or 10 already playing soccer. We rushed out to stop them, but it turns out they had already safely dug up the mine and set it on the side of the field. Even at a young age, these kids were so used to navigating explosives that they knew what to do.”
A less glamorous part of being the 911 call for explosives is that the EOD specialists are the very first emergency responders on the scene, whether an explosion occurs in a foreign country or stateside. The reasoning behind this is that any incident involving an explosion may still have remnants of other explosive components that could still be dangerous. Unfortunately, being the first on the scene often means that EOD specialists are responsible for recovering victims and their “parts” after an explosion has occurred. He recalls multiple instances when his team was tasked with recovering soldiers’ limbs in hopes they could be saved and reattached.
But even these graphic memories don’t cause Don’s calm demeanor to waiver, even slightly. His composed temperament isn’t a lack of emotion. The emotion is there when Don talks about how sobering it was for him to see a memorial commemorating EODs who lost their lives in Iraq and the shock he felt at the number of dog tags displayed - each honoring a fallen EOD specialist. The emotion is there when he talks about how many of his fellow EOD techs died trying to figure out the tricks of booby traps associated with IEDs. Don’s uniquely serene demeanor is definitely not a lack of emotion, but rather an illustration of his ability to master it.
The Humanitarian Half of the Job
Don’s emotion is seen again when he talks about the humanitarian part of his job. He proudly points out that the humanitarian piece was half of their mission. You can sense Don’s enthusiasm as he explains the numerous humanitarian acts he was involved in from training Iraqi forces on how to dispose of IEDs to building schools and wells for local communities. It is easy to tell that, amongst his myriad of impressive accomplishments, it is the humanitarian work that brings Don the most pride.
Continuing a Lifetime of Service
After six deployments that sent Don to wars zones like Bosnia, Kosovo (2x), Iraq and Afghanistan (2x) and a plethora of different missions that included time as a counter-terrorism commander and being part of the security detail of many “VIPs” including the President of Afghanistan and President Bush, Don finally retired from the military in 2013. But his military retirement didn’t stop him from finding a way to serve and protect others. For the past seven years, Don has served as the president of Peak Alarm, a security company that specializes in Burglar/Fire Alarms, video security, card access, and hold-up systems in addition to uniformed security guards and patrol services. It is one of the largest private security companies in the Intermountain West.
When Don first retired he recalls often being asked to publicly share his experiences with community groups, veteran organizations, and students. But as the years have dragged on those invitations to share come less frequently. Don, like most veterans, is humble and didn’t serve in the military for public recognition. He doesn’t ask for the presentations and you won’t find him boasting about his many accomplishments or seeking praise on Veteran’s Day. But the decline in Don’s invitations to share his experiences represents a disturbing and growing trend.
Our country is lucky to not currently be engaged in a major war that dominates our headlines, conversations, and thoughts. That doesn’t mean that there are not still men and women who are risking their lives to keep our country safe. In fact, it is because of their service that worries of war do not dominate our thoughts, but we cannot allow the lack of a major conflict to cause us to forget about the ongoing sacrifice of the men and women in our military. Don’s experiences should continue to be shared to serve as a reminder of that sacrifice. Veterans will never demand recognition which is why it is up to the rest of us to share their stories as a means of honoring their service and expressing our gratitude. This Veteran’s Day we challenge you to find a veteran in your network and really speak with them in a way that goes further than a simple “thank you for your service.” Make this holiday personal by truly honoring the lifetime of service so many veterans like Don live.