Conner Smith

[SGM Thad Smith @SGMThadSmith]

Today, 21 years ago, is the anniversary of the darkest day in my military career. On a dusty road outside of Al Qaim on the way to Camp Gannon a vehicle in our ground assault force was hit and destroyed by an IED. The result, four wounded and four killed. Five words to describe such a catastrophic event. The wounded: Rich, Chris, Dan, and Sam. Those killed pictured below (left to right): Ivica, Trevor, OB, and CPL Shea. I think of them often; they are remembered and missed.

[Conner Smith @ConnerDSmith]

Can’t wait!

[SGM Thad Smith @SGMThadSmith]

Taking off a few days with the family at the beach, spending time with dad, siblings and their families , my beautiful wife, and my son and his family. Can’t wait to play with the grandkids. I’ll be back soon, hope you all have a great week.

[SGM Thad Smith @SGMThadSmith]

Early on in the GWOT, integrating EOD training into troop and squadron training iterations was not popular with the operators and leadership because it left them all pulling security or holding in place while one or two EOD guys practiced their TTPs.  They wanted to be practicing their skills; shooting, CQB, etc.; not waiting around for us to perform x-ray analysis, cap wire diagnostics, or improvise a render safe procedure on the fly.  The Unit obviously valued and recognized the need for EOD personnel on the teams; but generally, they wanted us to train on our own and be ready to execute when they needed us not to interrupt their training.

One incident stands out that changed their perception of integrating EOD contingencies into standard training iterations.  Early on in the insurgency in Iraq out in the western desert at a remote farm house (this was a different squadron and a different EOD Team Leader).  Very specific intelligence drove the targeting of an HVT at this particular, isolated location.  The troop spun up for a night time execution of the target.  They arrived, cleared, and secured the target and it was the driest of dry holes; no people, no animals, and not even any furniture.  Just a completely empty house.

In the middle of the kitchen the floor tiles were broken and disturbed and what appeared to be a clothes line or an electrical cord was dangling from the wall just below the ceiling down to that area of the floor.  Before investigating any further, the team leader called for EOD to come in and clear it.  We know all of this because one of the operators was wearing a helmet camera on this particular operation and he happened to be in that room and filmed the next few seconds.  One other bit of information, we have a code word for emergency evacuation.  Anyone on target can say the code word and with no further instructions everyone evacuates the vehicle/structure/area and regroups a safe distance away.  Everyone hates training that contingency because it is usually chaos and a pain in the butt.

So, the EOD guy walks in, is pointed to the area on the floor, kneels down to inspect, then on the helmet cam footage you can see him look around the room hesitate momentarily and then call the code word over the radio.  In that momentary pause his knowledge, skills, abilities, and experience lead to the conclusion that something wasn’t kosher.

As guys were jumping out of windows and running through every door to get clear of the immediate area the cussing and complaining were recorded on the footage.  But to their credit everyone complied instantly.  Later a timer was added to the footage and used for both EOD and operator training.  For 45 seconds guys moved away from the target, bitching the whole way.

And then the building detonated and chunks of it rained down on the whole troop.  Those 45 seconds were the difference between everybody returning to base and the loss of a significant portion of the nation’s national mission force.

One EOD guy’s reliance on threat assessment, detailed analysis of enemy TTPS, and instinct coupled with the willingness to make an uncomfortable call in the moment saved multiple lives and support for EOD training was seen in a different light after this incident.

@BlastingThrough @RepBrianMast

[Conner Smith @ConnerDSmith]

@SGMThadSmith Hilarious! I think these folks need to see yhr Christmas card one of the kids sent you in Iraq soon 😂

[SGM Thad Smith @SGMThadSmith]

November 1999 on an artillery firing range north of Camp Red Cloud, South Korea.  My team was on call for response duties when we received a call from range control to respond to a 155mm stuck round incident.

I didn’t know anybody that had actually performed a stuck round procedure other than in a training environment for the obligatory BNCOC exercise at Redstone. When we got to the firing point it turned out to be three M109 Paladin self-propelled howitzers that each had a stuck round in the chamber.  All three vehicles were partially through with a course of fire when their FDC messed something and Range Control called a cease fire and had them hold position expecting to resume firing shortly.  However, they couldn’t fix the problem and ended the exercise. In the hour or so they were waiting the hot barrels cooled around the projectile in the chamber and the crews couldn’t unload them no matter what they tried.

So, there we were in the freezing cold, after dark, improvising charge holders from Army sleeping pads that would center the C-4 in the barrels, and filling the barrels with water from a firefighting tanker truck.  We hand cranked the barrels to an angle we eyeballed and thought would allow the 97# HE projectile to fly out the crew doors and impact the sand bag walls we built behind each vehicle. Worked like a charm.

Once the incident was complete, we turned the vehicles back to their unit with the instruction to have them inspected at depot level maintenance before firing again.  About a week later I stopped by the maintenance facility to check on the guns and they said they had never seen a cleaner barrel and everything was fine.  That was one of my more interesting EOD incidents.

@Johnny_Joey @RepBrianMast

[Conner Smith @ConnerDSmith]

@Vitus_osst Where is this parish and this priest?

[SGM Thad Smith @SGMThadSmith]

The soldiers that populate the military’s Special Mission Units are an interesting mix of personalities. On one hand they’re living among the civilian population and most don’t get a second look at the grocery store or walking through Home Depot. They are parents, spouses, siblings; everyday Americans. On the other hand, they’re uniquely trained, highly intelligent, talented, very competitive, and blessed with a mindset that seeks excellence. Joe England ( @StoicViking2025 ), in a recent post described the ideal Tier 1 operator as John Rambo meets Elon Musk. In the photo below is a quote on a gift I received when I transitioned from EOD team leader into an R&D position. I think it expresses the same idea but from a little different perspective.

But, within the Unit there are some truly unique individuals. They’re just different; true natural anomalies. One of those that comes to mind was one of my troop commanders; I’ll call him MAJ M. He was an operator that excelled through the officer pipeline and by the way he had a highly technical PhD from MIT. I asked him once why he decided to go the Army route instead of using his PhD in a civilian technical role? He said, “I enjoy it and they keep letting be do cool stuff and giving me great assignment. When they don’t, I’ve always got something to fall back on.” He went on to other great assignments and had a very successful Army career. Ironically, he now works for Elon Musk ( @elonmusk ).

It was a pleasure and honor to work with the caliber of individuals I’ve been fortunate to work with.

[SGM Thad Smith @SGMThadSmith]

Conventional EOD Teams are used to conducting operations in a deliberate fashion when the clearance/disposal/render safe of the ordnance/IED/Explosive hazard is the mission. Usually, in SOF EOD the EOD procedures are more dynamic or fluid and happen so the main mission can continue.
You are often working the problem alone, with no pubs, while teams are continuing to clear a target, detainee operations are ongoing, medics are performing casualty care, or the shooting is still happening.

I concentrated on four things and stressed them when training others:
1. Intel analysis of Enemy TTPs and AOR-specific tendencies
2. On-target threat assessment, informed by the first bullet point and guided by training reps with intel-driven, real-world scenarios.
3. Demo, ordinance ID, fuse function, and disposal fundamentals
4. Systems and systematic processes so you don’t forget things when operating under stressful and/or time-constrained conditions

Enemy-specific TTPs and tendencies were always evolving. We would create a countermeasure; they would counter our counter and so on. We tried to be very specific on the trend analysis as to time and place and with what intel was driving us to this particular target; were we being set up?

On-target threat assessments were key. You had to quickly determine appropriate safety precautions and develop a solution that doesn’t put the force in danger.

You had to be familiar with ordnance, ammo, and breaching charges carried into a target by friendlies because there was just as much chance you would be dealing with duds or damaged explosive hazards from our side as there was of dealing with IEDs or enemy explosive hazards.

Systematic processes for things like detainee or vehicle search were essential so you had the muscle memory to not forget things under stress. Tools, equipment, and demo materials needed to be in the same place in your kit every time so you could find and deploy them with your eyes closed or tell somebody helping you where to find what you need them to hand you.

Constant training and thinking through problems in stressful and challenging conditions was the ticket.

[SGM Thad Smith @SGMThadSmith]

Usually other units were supporting our operations. Sometimes, though, we supported other units in interesting ways. One of those support missions was creating my own brand of fireworks to create a distraction for a Ranger mission in western Iraq. I used det cord, PETN boosters, old breaching charges, diesel fuel in water bottles, time fuse, a few random detonators, and flashbang grenades all initiated with both M147 Time Delay Firing Devices (TDFD) and M81 Fuse Igniters. These were supposed to act as improvised firefight simulators to draw the enemy observers' attention away from the Rangers' avenue of approach. I and a couple of other guys went out in helos and conducted false insertions on the far side of a village the Rangers were interested in. Shortly after we placed our contraptions and took off in the helos there was a lot of noise, fireballs, and explosions to distract and amaze the local bad guys. I was pretty proud of our effort and the show we put on. Happy 4th everyone!

[Conner Smith @ConnerDSmith]

Happy Independence Day! 🇺🇸

[SGM Thad Smith @SGMThadSmith]

I have had the opportunity to travel to 18 countries on 4 continents. I have visited 38 of our 50 states. I am convinced that the United States is the greatest country in history and a very special place. Happy Birthday America! And thank you to everyone that is contributing to her continued success and improvement: service members holding the line far from home, first responders saving lives and keeping us safe at home, those that are contributing in local government, educators, entrepreneurs creating jobs, people stocking shelves at the grocery stores, anyone that loves this country and appreciates the gift of living here. Have a great 250th celebration!!

P.S. Be careful with those fireworks. Remember, this is the last night with all ten fingers and both eyeballs for some people. Don't be one of them. @ConnerDSmith

[Conner Smith @ConnerDSmith]

@EODHappyCaptain @SGMThadSmith has told me he’d more nervous around fireworks than IEDs. Had some EOD buddy back in the day lose his life in a fireworks accident.

[Conner Smith @ConnerDSmith]

@David_Fenili @SGMThadSmith Love this idea @SGMThadSmith

[SGM Thad Smith @SGMThadSmith]

Getting into a SOF EOD position doesn’t happen by accident.  You have to volunteer at least 4 or 5 different times and meet some unique basic requirements just to start the selection and assessment process.  Then you have to be selected by the organization and you have to accept the offer.  At no point are you told to accept or ordered into an assignment at the Unit.

You have chosen to accept a uniquely dangerous job and you will have to face risk on a daily basis to train for the job and to conduct real world operations.  You choose it, hope for it, and strive to be worthy of the job constantly, and it only increases as you train more, deploy more, and rise through the ranks.

But there is a price to pay for having your wishes granted and attaining your dreams.  The exposures, for years, to blast overpressure, breathing explosive residue, smoke from thousands of iterations through the shoot house, burn pits, toxic chemicals, radiation, enemy mortar/rocket/IED attacks, and countless other unknown and unseen injuries and stresses that add up through the decades of service and the years of combat operations.  Those exposures and stresses manifest in a variety of ways and differently in all of us.

For me, the bill came due in a variety of ways both physically and in relationships.  The latest installment for me is that I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2020.  That one is a real kick in the teeth.  As Michael J. Fox and the cast of the show “Shrinking” (a great show) say, “F**K PARKINSON’S!!”

Please check on your buddies and if you’re struggling ask for help.  

@realmikefox , @MichaelJFoxOrg , @allsecure_ , @DeptVetAffairs , @EODWarriorFoundation , #Shrinking

[SGM Thad Smith @SGMThadSmith]

Only in special operations slots do EOD soldiers get the chance to be military freefall (MFF) qualified.  MFF is a parachute infil method with two main options; high altitude exit with high altitude parachute opening (HAHO) or high altitude exit with low altitude parachute opening (HALO).  It’s an infil method that is rarely used, but practiced a great deal because of the second order training and operational effects:  fear management, fear inoculation, complex planning, and robust contingency planning.  At the Unit, contingency planning was vitally important because experience had impressed on those that had come before us that operations rarely go off without a hitch.

One HAHO training jump we planned to exit about 17,500 feet, open about 16,000 feet, and travel for several miles to a landing zone east of Ft. Bragg.  The goal was to practice stacking up in a good formation and navigation under canopy.  About halfway through our movement under canopy the clouds moved in underneath us and without visual cues the navigating team got a bit off course.

When we popped out of the clouds, we were not anywhere close to our designated LZ, we were over the highway 401 with power lines and traffic in both directions.  It was every man for himself trying to find the clearest spot available to land in.  For me and one other guy it was the parking lot of the Cheerwine bottling company outside of Raeford, NC.  We were able to exercise a couple of contingency plans that afternoon.

[SGM Thad Smith @SGMThadSmith]

There was a pretty good group of us at the Unit that played poker. We played small tournaments on weekends at Bragg, when we could. And we had a back room at our mission support are in Baghdad where we would have have games during down time between ops.

The summer after my last combat rotation with B Squadron, the summer of 2007, I went to play in the @WSOP for the first time. I made my first final table that trip. I made another final table in 2018.

Maybe we can get another one this trip!

[SGM Thad Smith @SGMThadSmith]

A little personal history

This account is where I'll share some of my stories, the lessons behind them, and the occasional reminder that experience is often what you get immediately after you needed it.

I should probably start with my training, assignments, and bona fides so you can decide whether or not you want to listen to anything I have to say.

1987-89: enlisted as an 11X, basic training at Ft. Benning, and assigned to 197th INF BDE (M)(Separate) as 11H TOW Missle Gunner. PVT – PFC (E1-E3)

1989-1993: break in service, long-haired civilian

1993 – 1995: Dco 3/502 INF 101st ABN DIV as an 11H. PFC – SPC (E3-E4)

Mar 1995 – Nov 1995: NAVSCOEOD (EOD School) combination of Eglin AFB, FL, Indian Head, MD, and Redstone Arsenal, AL. MOS change to 55D. SPC (E4)

DEC 1995 – DEC1998: 710th ORD CO (EOD) Naval Submarine Base, Point Loma, San Diego, CA. SPC – SSG (E4-E6)

JAN 1999 – JAN 2000: 718th ORD CO (EOD) Camp Red Cloud, South Korea. SSG (E6)

FEB 2000 – JAN 2001: TACOM-ARDEC Picatinny Arsenal, NJ. SSG(E6)

JAN 2001 – OCT 2011: SOF Unit Ft. Bragg, NC. SOF EOD Team Member, SOF EOD Team Leader, SOF EOD SME for R&D. SSG – SGM (E6-E9)

Interesting schools that I completed that I was fortunate to be able to attend: Air Assault, Airborne, Military Freefall, NATO IEDD, and Advanced Access & Disablement (for those around during the NEST days).

Notable accomplishments while in the infantry and conventional EOD, pre-9/11: I earned the Expert Infantry Badge at the 101st and I was team leader of the winning team in the 1999 Department of the Army EOD Team of the Year (TOY) Competition (I took over a great team and we were the 1st OCONUS team to ever win the competition)

More post-9/11 and post-military to follow. Thanks, have a good one.

[SGM Thad Smith @SGMThadSmith]

Want to give a heads up, I’m going to be off comms for several day. I’m going to Vegas to play in a few @WSOP poker tournaments. I get started tomorrow afternoon and, hopefully, I’ll be too busy to post anything.

But, while I’m away, if you have any specific questions you would like answered or a direction you would like my posts to go in, leave me some ideas in the comments.

Talk soon, wish me luck!

[Conner Smith @ConnerDSmith]

@BlastingThrough Love this! Only a few of us get the opportunity to say this. Haha

[Conner Smith @ConnerDSmith]

@SGMThadSmith Thanks for the shout out, Dad!

For those interested in pre-ordering, here’s the link to the book: https://t.co/AnXrMLvPLz

[Conner Smith @ConnerDSmith]

@specialopsmag I think this is something your followers would love!

[Conner Smith @ConnerDSmith]

This Father’s Day I want to highlight one of the greats!

And his NEW BOOK in this 🧵

@SGMThadSmith is one of the most interesting people I’ve ever known

[Conner Smith @ConnerDSmith]

Happy Father’s Day to all the real ones out there!

Here’s the link to order your copy:

https://t.co/vMpsE7tvgU