Locate, identify, and dispose of explosive devices including improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and unexploded ordnance.
ASVAB GT: 110
Catalog listing, not a contract offer. Explore entry-level paths in Marines.
Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technicians are called when something explosive is found, whether that is a roadside device overseas or an unexploded shell on a range at home. Work splits between the team shop, where you maintain robots, bomb suits, x-ray gear, and tools, and the callouts that interrupt everything. A response means establishing a cordon, gathering information, putting a robot downrange, and deciding on a render safe procedure with the team leader. Marine EOD supports infantry and special operations units, so you deploy with them and often work in the open rather than behind a safe perimeter. The tempo alternates between careful, quiet technical work and situations where being wrong is unrecoverable.
You are trained on the construction and function of military ordnance, improvised devices, chemical and nuclear weapons response, and demolition of what cannot be moved. Robotics, portable x-ray, electronic countermeasures, and diagnostic tools are daily equipment rather than specialty items. Post blast analysis teaches you to read a scene for evidence, which is the same discipline a federal investigator uses. The training also builds methodical problem solving under time pressure, since every device is a puzzle someone designed to hurt you. Small team leadership comes early, because EOD teams are tiny and everyone carries real responsibility.
The job builds a deliberate kind of courage, expressed as slowing down when every instinct says hurry. You learn to control fear well enough to think clearly while wearing heavy protective equipment in punishing heat. Absolute honesty becomes normal, since a technician who hides a mistake gets somebody killed. Teams are small and close, which teaches you to trust others completely and to be worth that trust. There is also a sober maturity that comes from working around consequences that do not forgive carelessness.
Few military jobs translate as cleanly as this one does. Municipal and state bomb squads, the federal explosives and firearms enforcement agencies, and federal law enforcement hazardous device roles recruit directly from military EOD. Commercial range clearance and unexploded ordnance remediation contractors hire technicians to clear former training land and construction sites worldwide. Contract work training foreign forces or supporting counter improvised device programs is common and pays well. Veterans also move into explosives safety management for mining, demolition, and energy companies, and the clearance and record travel with you.
You begin by reviewing incident reports and checking your robots, detection gear, and disposal tools with the team. When a call comes in you respond to locate and identify explosive hazards like IEDs and unexploded ordnance, then carry out render-safe or disposal procedures. Between missions you train on emerging threats and maintain the specialized EOD equipment.
No suitable exact-MOS or related career-field video has been verified for this page yet. No unrelated video or search-results page is substituted.
$43,902–$74,948
2026 basic pay only; the same grade and service time pay the same across jobs. Promotions are assumed, not promised. Excludes allowances, bonuses and special pays.
Possibilities for serving Marines, including those in support roles—not guaranteed admission or awards. Individual eligibility, assignment, selection, available training or competition places and successful qualification apply.
Earned skill levels: tan, gray, green, brown and black belt. Applies across combat and support specialties.
Belts require documented training, sustainment and performance testing under authorized instructors. Higher belts have additional prerequisites, including applicable grade and professional-education requirements; neither promotion nor elapsed service awards a belt. Confirm the current requirements for the next belt with your instructor.
Sources reviewed . Confirm current course and badge requirements with official school guidance and your unit.
For Marines 2336 Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Technician, official service-wide guidance and any exact feeder-list matches are distinguished below from unverified specialty-specific requirements. Ranks are not separate jobs, and these possibilities are not guaranteed promotions or available contracts.
Examples of higher service ranks
These are service-wide rank names, not a verified promotion ladder for this specialty. Examples are not exhaustive; appointments sharing a pay grade are not additional promotion steps.
Official military rank referenceMarine NCO grades are E-4 and E-5; staff NCO grades are E-6 through E-9. At E-8 and E-9, first sergeant/sergeant major and master sergeant/master gunnery sergeant have distinct leadership roles. Warrant and commissioned officers are separate career tracks. This service-wide structure is not a verified promotion ceiling for this MOS.
Marine Corps ranks and career-track distinctionsService-level application reference—not a verified next step for this listing
The FY27 regular warrant program requires technical and professional qualifications for the requested warrant MOS and selection. A listed warrant destination does not establish an enlisted feeder match. The February 2026 deadline has passed; this announcement documents a selection route, not a currently open opportunity.
Marine FY27 regular warrant selection announcementSpecialty-specific advancement, senior assignments, and eligibility for a different personnel category have not been verified for this listing. No feeder eligibility or automatic transition to another specialty is implied.
Advancement depends on current service rules, performance, required education, qualifications, selection, and authorized positions—not simply years served. Confirm current requirements with an official recruiter or career counselor.
Related military jobs below are for exploration, not promised progression or confirmed transfer paths.
Sources reviewed 2026-10-03. This is a partial evidence review, not verification of every advancement route for this specialty. Source retrieval dates do not replace policy effective dates.
Career-field mappings, not automatic qualifications. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024 national medians). O*NET links explain each occupation; military experience does not guarantee a job or salary.
Locate, identify, and dispose of explosive devices including improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and unexploded ordnance.
Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technicians are called when something explosive is found, whether that is a roadside device overseas or an unexploded shell on a range at home. Work splits between the team shop, where you maintain robots, bomb suits, x-ray gear, and tools, and the callouts that interrupt everything. A response means establishing a cordon, gathering information, putting a robot downrange, and deciding on a render safe procedure with the team leader. Marine EOD supports infantry and special operations units, so you deploy with them and often work in the open rather than behind a safe perimeter. The tempo alternates between careful, quiet technical work and situations where being wrong is unrecoverable.
You are trained on the construction and function of military ordnance, improvised devices, chemical and nuclear weapons response, and demolition of what cannot be moved. Robotics, portable x-ray, electronic countermeasures, and diagnostic tools are daily equipment rather than specialty items. Post blast analysis teaches you to read a scene for evidence, which is the same discipline a federal investigator uses. The training also builds methodical problem solving under time pressure, since every device is a puzzle someone designed to hurt you. Small team leadership comes early, because EOD teams are tiny and everyone carries real responsibility.
Few military jobs translate as cleanly as this one does. Municipal and state bomb squads, the federal explosives and firearms enforcement agencies, and federal law enforcement hazardous device roles recruit directly from military EOD. Commercial range clearance and unexploded ordnance remediation contractors hire technicians to clear former training land and construction sites worldwide. Contract work training foreign forces or supporting counter improvised device programs is common and pays well. Veterans also move into explosives safety management for mining, demolition, and energy companies, and the clearance and record travel with you.
ASVAB GT: 110. This is the catalog's listed requirement, not an individual eligibility decision. Confirm the current standard and any exceptions with the service.
You do not enlist into this specialty. Servicemembers reclassify into it after serving. Confirm the current status of this specific classification with an official recruiter.
Catalog sources consulted: 2026-09-26. This is not an entry-by-entry verification date. No record-specific verification date is recorded. Occupation audit evidence reviewed: 2026-09-26; this does not re-verify every requirement.
Official branch occupation evidence
Occupation identified. This occupation was identified in the cited source. This does not verify requirements, benefits, or a current opening.
NAVMC 1200.1L, FY26 Military Occupational Specialties Manual (effective October 1, 2025), chapter 1 · reviewed 2026-09-26
Confirmed. Catalog evidence is not an inventory of open contracts.
You do not enlist into this specialty. Servicemembers reclassify into it after serving.
No dated public inventory confirmed a currently open recruiting contract for this role. This does not mean there are no openings. Confirm current eligibility and offers with an official recruiter.
Deployment likelihood: Moderate*
* Estimated. Rank progression and specialty-pay eligibility are illustrative assumptions. Deployment likelihood, when shown, is inferred from similar specialties in the branch and career field, not a published specialty deployment rate.
Descriptions may change. No military role is free from risk of injury or death, including non-combat work. Catalog review dates do not establish current openings or re-verification of every requirement.
Recruiting signals reflect what each branch published on the dates shown. They are not offers, and they do not mean a contract is open for you. Eligibility depends on your ASVAB scores, medical qualification, security clearance eligibility, and ship date. Confirm everything with an official recruiter. See our Disclaimer and Terms.