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Marine Corps MOS · Combat & Infantry

2305 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Officer

Current service use not established

This code is listed in the directory. Inclusion alone does not confirm current service use.

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Overview

An Explosive Ordnance Disposal Officer supervises command and control of EOD operations and personnel while serving as a special staff officer. The officer directs efforts to locate, access, identify, render safe, neutralize, and dispose of CBRNE hazards, unexploded ordnance, improvised explosive devices, and weapons of mass destruction.

Minimum clearance: Top Secret

Core Skills

  • Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear hazard mitigation
  • Unexploded ordnance and improvised device neutralization
  • EOD command support for special operations

Civilian Career Paths

Career associations are editorial assessments of the cited evidence, not an official crosswalk unless the evidence explicitly says so. O*NET supplies civilian occupation information, not proof of a military match. Related experience does not confer civilian qualifications. Tasks and tools below describe civilian work, not military training.

Ordnance Handling Expert (UXO)

Responsibility for locating, identifying, rendering safe and disposing of unexploded ordnance transfers directly to civilian munitions-response work.

How to prepare: Submit documented EOD schooling and work history to a munitions-response employer for assessment against TP 18 qualification levels. For covered work, the recognized military EOD-school route to UXO Technician II requires 1.5 years of total EOD and munitions and explosives of concern experience, role-specific on-the-job training, OSHA-compliant 40-hour HAZWOPER training and federal and state explosives-access eligibility.

What the civilian work involves
  • Examine blast areas to determine amounts and kinds of explosive charges needed and to ensure that safety laws are observed.
  • Place safety cones around blast areas to alert other workers of danger zones, and signal workers as necessary to ensure that they clear blast sites prior to explosions.

Emergency Management Directors

Command and control of EOD operations addressing explosive and CBRNE threats provides relevant experience for coordinating civilian emergency response.

How to prepare: Develop a civilian emergency-response exercise plan with a local emergency management office to build experience beyond explosive-hazard operations. Director roles typically require a bachelor's degree and many years of relevant experience; some small jurisdictions accept a high school diploma with extensive emergency management experience.

What the civilian work involves
  • Consult with officials of local and area governments, schools, hospitals, and other institutions to determine their needs and capabilities in the event of a natural disaster or other emergency.
  • Develop and maintain liaisons with municipalities, county departments, and similar entities to facilitate plan development, response effort coordination, and exchanges of personnel and equipment.
  • Coordinate disaster response or crisis management activities, such as ordering evacuations, opening public shelters, and implementing special needs plans and programs.
Civilian tools and software (examples)
  • Alert Technologies OpsCenter

Notes & Sources

  • TP 18 qualifications apply to specified DoD and DoD-funded UXO work, not all civilian explosives jobs, and do not replace other licensing or permitting requirements.
  • Civilian UXO duties are limited by assigned qualification and supervision level. Supervisory levels require additional experience and training; extended breaks may require refresher training or assessment, and tasks such as hazardous-material transport or diving have additional qualifications.
  • Some states require emergency management directors to obtain certification within a specified period after hiring.
Evidence for this guidance (5 documents)
  1. NAVMC 1200.1L (FY26, in force): MOS 2305

    [1] MOS 2305 section "a. Summary"; cached text line 7296; NAVMC 1200.1L signed 2025-03-07, in force until 2026-10-01

    Supports: Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear hazard mitigation, Unexploded ordnance and improvised device neutralization, EOD command support for special operations, Ordnance Handling Expert (UXO) (O*NET 47-5032.00), Emergency Management Directors (O*NET 11-9161.00)

  2. O*NET: Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters

    [2] O*NET 30.3 occupational data

    Supports: Ordnance Handling Expert (UXO) (O*NET 47-5032.00)

  3. Department of Defense Explosives Safety Board: TP 18, Revision 1

    [3] 24 June 2020; paragraphs 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 4.2-4.8 and Table 4.2, printed pages 2-8 and 31-34

    Supports: Ordnance Handling Expert (UXO) (O*NET 47-5032.00)

  4. O*NET: Emergency Management Directors

    [4] O*NET 30.3 occupational data

    Supports: Emergency Management Directors (O*NET 11-9161.00)

  5. Bureau of Labor Statistics: emergency management directors

    [5] How to Become One; retrieved 23 September 2026

    Supports: Emergency Management Directors (O*NET 11-9161.00)

Defense contractor jobs for 2305

Descriptions may be summarized for clarity. Verify all information with your branch career counselor or official military documentation before making career decisions.

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