BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan — Most people use tools to fix things, but the Air Force's 455th Civil Engineer Flight Explosive Ordnance Disposal team here uses their tools to fix things in a slightly different manner.

To these airmen, blowing something up is the best way to eliminate a hazard and, with an average of three suspected unexploded ordnance calls a day here, business is, well, booming.

Often, the type of hazard they'll face here isn't usually known until the team is on site. Back at their home station of Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, the majority of the calls the explosive ordnance disposal technicians field are to render aircraft munitions and flares safe that didn't employ or fire correctly, and to inspect and dispose of suspicious packages.

Here in Afghanistan, however, the team goes to the field to identify and dispose of unexploded ordnance found mostly by civil engineers and contractors doing construction projects.

Typically, the UXOs are leftovers from the past 24 years of civil unrest.

"There's a lot of UXOs out there. The (civil engineer) teams have to keep their eyes open for all kinds of hazards," said Air Force Master Sgt. Charmaine Regelman, superintendent of the 455th. "Sometimes, when people call in suspicious objects, they don't give us enough information. We need as much information as the caller can give us. Every UXO has an identifier."

To help explosive ordnance disposal technicians assess whether an object is unexploded ordnance or just a piece of intimidating-looking junk, callers should offer EOD as much detail as they can about the object without moving it, while at the same time maintaining a safe distance from it.

Ideally, EOD technicians need the object's exposed length, diameter, if it has wings or fins, markings or writing, the object's color, and if it looks like it has been broken or damaged.

"If a person isn't sure whether an object is a UXO or not, they should call us," said one of the team's technicians. "After all, it's our job to keep people safe."