Make it go Boom with Clearance Diving Officer Lt(N) Matt Hammond
Video / September 3, 2024
Transcript
Make it go boom.
My name is Lieutenant Hammond, first name Matt. I'm the mine warfare officer at Fleet Diving Unit (Atlantic).
One of the mandates for the unit is explosive ordinance disposal response. We usually get some imagery with the call when it initially comes in. So we'll start making assessments from there to figure out what it is. If we can't tell from the imagery, then we have resources once we're on the ground to get a more exact determination of what it is. Whether or not it needs to be disposed of. If they do contain explosives, then we would find a suitable area to act as a range as close as possible to where the ordinance was found.
From there through our procedures, get rid of whatever is found.
We are getting ready to deploy to Estonia as part of Operation OPEN SPIRIT, which is a annual NATO operation. We'll be going up there with a full mine countermeasures team as well as our underwater vehicle operators. So we'll be looking for and disposing of mines in the Baltic Sea, of which there are hundreds of thousands left over from the World Wars.
I'm not from a military family. I knew nothing about it initially. An opportunity arose for me to go to the military college. So once I was in the military, I joined as a Naval Warfare Officer, and one of the the avenues for career progression that a Naval Warfare Officer can take is Clearance Diving Officer. I stayed for the reasons that I initially got in for. It has turned out to be a rewarding and challenging career. I'm continuously confronted with really good opportunities. I try to take advantage of them to the fullest extent.