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Interview With John Marvell

Aired November 04, 2003 - 13:46   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Just imagine walking those dusty roads and desolate feels of Iraq searching for weapons and explosives that are taking the lives of soldiers and the Iraqi people.
Well Army and Navy EOD, men and women do know that mission well. It's their duty to blow up leftover and viciously planted land mines and weaponry designed to kill the innocent.

Navy Lieutenant John Marvell is one member of the Explosive Ordinance Disposal Detachment. He walks those grounds every day. He joins live us by phone -- all systems working now -- from Baghdad. leaseback, can you hear me all right?

LT. JOHN MARVELL, U.S. NAVY: I sure can.

PHILLIPS: Terrific. Look, we've been talking so much about weapons of mass destruction. But now the reality is coming out of Iraq that the immediate threat are these weapons that you're finding on a daily basis. Tell us what you're finding.

MARVELL: We're finding a lot of improvised devices, primarily they're made out of military ordnance that's modified for various detonation methods. And it's becoming obviously a big problem, as you folks are seeing only a portion of.

PHILLIPS: And we're seeing the video now. We're seeing the Rocket-Propelled Grenades, we're seeing the mines that you're coming across. We're watching the explosions here as you get rid of this ordinance that, of course, is becoming detrimental to those in Iraq. Tell us how the bad guy is hiding these explosives.

MARVELL: Well, the explosives themselves and the military ordnance in particular seems to be stockpiles of the former regime. It's available to whoever really goes out and looks for it. Apparently it's been found in schools, mosques, even hospitals.

So we're seeing a vast variety of items ranging from back to World War II to the present. And they're being incorporated and concealed in everyday looking places and items ranging from soda cans to even MRE wrappers to garbage bags. That makes it very difficult to spot.

PHILLIPS: How many calls would you say you respond to a day?

MARVELL: On a given day, it's hard to say. Would say in the last three months we've responded to more than 4,500 IED calls just in the last three months alone. It varies day to day. There's peaks and valleys in how we get our responses. But it's definitely -- there's plenty of work for us, unfortunately.

PHILLIPS: We see that. We see that you're collecting 2,000 to 2,500 pounds a week of the various types of weaponry. I know you're working with the Army now.

How successful would you say the mission is? I know you have a lot to deal with. But how is the response going, and do you feel that you're saving more lives than losing lives?

MARVELL: Absolutely. We're saving lives. The fact that my detachment has been integrated right into an Army company and we -- together we respond to the direct needs of the city, we're definitely saving lives here.

I couldn't tell you the percentage of how many of these devices are placed that are successful versus how many we defeat. I will tell you we're definitely making a difference here.

PHILLIPS: Well bravery is an important tool as we look at these pictures of you guys walking across those fields not sure what you're going to come across.

Navy Lieutenant John Marvell, member of an EOD, working day and night to try to prevent the attacks we're seeing in Iraq. Thank you for your time.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired November 4, 2003 - 13:46   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Just imagine walking those dusty roads and desolate feels of Iraq searching for weapons and explosives that are taking the lives of soldiers and the Iraqi people.
Well Army and Navy EOD, men and women do know that mission well. It's their duty to blow up leftover and viciously planted land mines and weaponry designed to kill the innocent.

Navy Lieutenant John Marvell is one member of the Explosive Ordinance Disposal Detachment. He walks those grounds every day. He joins live us by phone -- all systems working now -- from Baghdad. leaseback, can you hear me all right?

LT. JOHN MARVELL, U.S. NAVY: I sure can.

PHILLIPS: Terrific. Look, we've been talking so much about weapons of mass destruction. But now the reality is coming out of Iraq that the immediate threat are these weapons that you're finding on a daily basis. Tell us what you're finding.

MARVELL: We're finding a lot of improvised devices, primarily they're made out of military ordnance that's modified for various detonation methods. And it's becoming obviously a big problem, as you folks are seeing only a portion of.

PHILLIPS: And we're seeing the video now. We're seeing the Rocket-Propelled Grenades, we're seeing the mines that you're coming across. We're watching the explosions here as you get rid of this ordinance that, of course, is becoming detrimental to those in Iraq. Tell us how the bad guy is hiding these explosives.

MARVELL: Well, the explosives themselves and the military ordnance in particular seems to be stockpiles of the former regime. It's available to whoever really goes out and looks for it. Apparently it's been found in schools, mosques, even hospitals.

So we're seeing a vast variety of items ranging from back to World War II to the present. And they're being incorporated and concealed in everyday looking places and items ranging from soda cans to even MRE wrappers to garbage bags. That makes it very difficult to spot.

PHILLIPS: How many calls would you say you respond to a day?

MARVELL: On a given day, it's hard to say. Would say in the last three months we've responded to more than 4,500 IED calls just in the last three months alone. It varies day to day. There's peaks and valleys in how we get our responses. But it's definitely -- there's plenty of work for us, unfortunately.

PHILLIPS: We see that. We see that you're collecting 2,000 to 2,500 pounds a week of the various types of weaponry. I know you're working with the Army now.

How successful would you say the mission is? I know you have a lot to deal with. But how is the response going, and do you feel that you're saving more lives than losing lives?

MARVELL: Absolutely. We're saving lives. The fact that my detachment has been integrated right into an Army company and we -- together we respond to the direct needs of the city, we're definitely saving lives here.

I couldn't tell you the percentage of how many of these devices are placed that are successful versus how many we defeat. I will tell you we're definitely making a difference here.

PHILLIPS: Well bravery is an important tool as we look at these pictures of you guys walking across those fields not sure what you're going to come across.

Navy Lieutenant John Marvell, member of an EOD, working day and night to try to prevent the attacks we're seeing in Iraq. Thank you for your time.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com