Mission Statement
To strengthen the bonds of the bomb disposal community by establishing a network of trust, awareness, and collaboration.
Honoring a Fellow Hero...One Shirt at a Time
Michael A. "Hootch" Hoosock, 37, of Clay, gave the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty on Sunday, April 14, 2024. He was born in the town of Onondaga.
Over the past 20+ years Hootch touched and impacted so much of Onondaga County's public service, joining initially the Lyn court Fire Department and working as a paramedic for Rural/Metro, and going on to work for WAVES and NOVA ambulance companies and last worked as a firefighter/paramedic part time with Manlius FD. He also worked incredibly hard at becoming trained for both Bomb Squad earning the rank of Commander and worked with SWAT as a medic on the team. For a few years he even worked on Air 1 as a Deputy with the Sheriff's Department as a paramedic.
T-shirts for purchase for this year's 2024 Excelsior Challenge. They will honor LT Mike “Hootch” Hoosock who historically has been at Excelsior and all of our other events. As many know, Hootch was the Onondaga County Bomb Squad commander and was killed in the line of duty back in April. He left behind a wife and three small children. The money raised from these shirts will go to support his family.
If you do wish to purchase a shirt it can be done via the link below. You can either have the shirt(s) mailed to you, or they can be picked up at Excelsior.
Please feel free to share this link.
Help Us Achieve Our Goals
Education. Training. Networking.
THE U.S. BOMB TECHNICIAN ASSOCIATION (USBTA) EMPLOYS EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES TO PROVIDE CUTTING-EDGE TRAINING FOR ACTIVE BOMB TECHNICIANS. USBTA'S INNOVATIVE APPROACH ALLOWS BOMB TECHNICIANS TO TEST AND EVALUATE THESE TECHNOLOGIES UNDER CHALLENGING REALISTIC CONDITIONS. IT ALSO ALLOWS ENGINEERS AND MANUFACTURERS THE ABILITY TO OBSERVE AND ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW USBTA ENVISIONS USING THEIR PRODUCTS.
Key Focus Areas:
MILITARY EOD
PUBLIC SAFETY BOMB TECHNICIAN
HAZARDOUS DEVICES TECHNICAN
TRAINING
TECHNOLOGY
INDUSTRY
Our Vision
To provide training opportunities with emerging technologies, and encourage the sharing of resources, ideas, and experiences between bomb disposal specialists, academics, innovators, and industry partners.
UPCOMING TRAININGS
Remote Training Program
The USBTA developed a Remote Training Program in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The program utilizes an online delivery platform to provide training to US military EOD and public safety bomb technicians. To date the program has trained over 1,000 bomb technicians though 7 deliveries. Subjects include HME, EOD-10 donning and doffing, 3d printing, safe area selection, and updates from DHS REDOPS and FBI RAPID programs.
Technology Training Exercises
The USBTA and its Industry Partners strive to bring the latest technologies to these events. Some equipment is commercially available, while other equipment may still be in a prototype phase. Typical equipment involved in a USBTA TTE are: robotics, radiography, rigging, explosive detection equipment, new energetic tools, explosive containment vessels, and much more.