EOD Memorial

Some of the proceeds from Proximity support the EOD Memorial Scholarship Fund, which features prominently in the book. I encourage others to donate to the EOD Memorial by noting 10119 on their Combined Federal Campaign form or by sending donations to "The EOD Memorial" at:

EOD Memorial Committee
PO Box 594
Niceville, FL 32588

You can visit the EOD Memorial website at: http://www.eodmemorial.org/index3.html

"What is EOD?"

I hear this question often. Through Proximity I tried to answer this question in an entertaining way. The specific genesis of this book was an encounter where I was asked, "So, you're a SEAL, right?"

"No, I'm not a SEAL. I'm a Navy Diver and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician. We render safe unexploded conventional, chemical, biological, nuclear, and improvised explosive devices. In other words, we are the guys who disarm terrorist bombs, we clear minefields before amphibious landings, and we act as the bomb squad for the U.S. Secret Service."

"....right, a Navy SEAL."

("Arrgh!")

Advance Praise for Proximity

“Stephen Phillips is the real deal; a Navy EOD Officer and front line operator in the war against terrorism. Proximity is a well crafted thriller-- enthralling, realistic and frightening. Move over Tom Clancy.”

CHUCK PFARRER, author of Warrior Soul and Killing Che

“Steve Phillips is a member of a select group who live by the creed ‘Initial success or total failure.’ EOD Technicians are the special operations community’s unsung heroes…until now.

Proximity is a great read and hopefully one of many more books by Phillips.”

STEVE WATERMAN, author of Just a Sailor

Proximity: A Novel of the Navy's Elite Bomb Squad

EOD Techs

“It’s a lot like brain surgery, except if we screw up the patient detonates….Oh yeah, and we do it underwater.”

- A Navy EOD Technician

The U.S. Navy Divers of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) community “perform under pressure” in the hazardous job of bomb disposal, often deep beneath the sea….alone.

An EOD Technician must have the brains of an engineer, the hands of a surgeon, and the courage of a martyr. In the U.S. Navy, carrier flight operations only occur under the watchful eye of EOD Techs ready to respond to ordnance accidents. U.S. Marines assault enemy beachheads only after EOD Techs clear the littoral seas and landing zones of mines. The U.S. Secret Service even relies on military bomb squads to protect the President and visiting foreign dignitaries. Perhaps the best testimony of their value is that when the Navy needs to place a limpet mine under an enemy ship it tasks the Navy SEALs, but to respond to such an attack – the Navy summons EOD.

Proximity highlights the exciting work of one EOD detachment as they become enmeshed in the efforts of a terrorist coalition operating both in Europe and the United States. Lieutenant “Jazz” Jascinski and the men of Detachment Four become the key to helping the FBI apprehend these terrorists - until their unique skills place them under suspicion. To protect themselves, the Techs must race to find the culprits before they become the next victims…

Book Signing - August 9, 2008

On August 9, 2008 Steve will be at Hard Bean Coffee and Booksellers in Annapolis, Maryland to sign copies of his book Proximity: A Novel of the Navy's Elite Bomb Squad. Steve (USNA '92) will join fellow MWSA members and Naval Academy Alum; Rob Ballister (USNA '94, God Does Have a Sense of Humor), Jeff Garigliamo (USNA '89, Dogface), and Luke Ritter (USNA '90, Securing Global Transportation Networks).