Solving the Bomb Suit Problem: Programming for EOD Attrition Events

By Emmett Shaul, MTI Coach

Designing a training plan to prepare soldiers for the Army and USMC EOD Bomb Suit Test has been an interesting programming puzzle: train for the physical demands of a heavy, hot, enclosed bomb suit test when the event itself isn’t publicly posted. What is public is clear: the Army’s Phase 1 begins with a bomb suit test conducted in an ~85-pound suit, and the Marine Corps screens with a bomb suit agility event.

Background

Both pipelines start in the suit. The Army opens Phase 1 with a bomb suit test soldiers must pass to move forward. Details vary by unit, but the physical demands consistently include maneuvering under load in the suit, carrying ~50-pound objects, climbing stairs, short dummy drags, and basic calisthenics in the suit. This suit is not only physically demanding; much of the bomb suit attrition is attributed to the psychological demand of the suit—claustrophobia. There is little public knowledge on the exact sequence of events soldiers must complete during the bomb suit test.

For Marines, there’s more public description. A YouTube influencer who posted a video of himself completing the bomb suit agility screen shows a ~20-minute sequence that includes an 880-meter walk/run in the suit and a “maneuver under fire” segment: carry a ~55-pound device for marked distances, set it down and complete a simple movement (push up, squat, or prone to stand), then pick it up and continue. The test conclude with a simulated vest defuse. Event specifics can vary by unit.

What the research says about the suit. Beyond load, EOD protective clothing (EOD9 ensemble mass ~33–35 kg) adds full encapsulation that raises heart rate quickly and traps heat (Stewart et al., PLOS ONE, 2014). In controlled lab work wearing the EOD9 suit, tolerance times ranged 10–60 minutes, and 50 of 72 trials ended because heart rate exceeded 90% of max, not because core temperature hit the cutoff—i.e., cardiovascular strain commonly limited work at moderate intensities (Stewart et al., PLOS ONE, 2014). An ergonomics study showed that adding an ice vest under the EOD suit extended work time by ~8 minutes (~21%) and lowered skin temperature, but >90% of trials still terminated on the heart-rate criterion, confirming that cooling attenuates strain without removing the primary limiter (Hutchins et al., Applied Ergonomics, 2025). Field data mirror this: during realistic task circuits (walks with stairs, device carries, crawls, drags), technicians worked near max HR with elevated core temperature and high physiological strain, often reporting heat-illness symptoms (Stewart et al., Military Medicine, 2011). Classic DTIC testing also documented what the suit does to performance—reduced mobility, narrowed visual field, and degraded psychomotor performance—helping explain why the ensemble adds cognitive/coordination drag even when strength is adequate (Johnson et al., DTIC ADA110314, 1981).

Programming Approach

We can’t issue bomb suits or expect athletes to have one. So the problem became: how do we load the body like a suit and progress to the target feel without the suit?

Loading & distribution: Athletes wear a 25lb weight vest to put mass on the torso the way a suit sits, then add a backpack over the vest so we can build toward ~85lb as the plan progresses. This pairing distributes weight more like a suit than a pack alone and gives clean steps to the target load.

Progression: We progress the load and keep the work period at 20 minutes. Starting the plan at ~85 lb is too intense for most athletes. Instead, we train loading at 45 lb, 65 lb, and 85 lb, moving up after two sessions at each load. From available descriptions, the physical portion of bomb suit tests runs ~20:00, though candidates may be in the suit longer; our aim is to prepare athletes to meet the physical demands of 20 minutes at ~85 lb.

Train the bomb-suit demands directly: Every session uses exercises that line up with the tasks: farmer carries for handling a 50–55 lb device, step-ups for stair work, walk/run under load for sustained movement in the suit, in-line lunges and squats for lower-body work under load, short dummy drags for pulls, and sandbag chassis integrity training. The tables below show this mapping.

USMC — Test Demands vs. How We Train It

Bomb Suit Test Demand (USMC)	How We Train It
880m walk/run in the suit	Walk/run 880m under load
“Maneuver under fire” (carry ~50–55 lb; set-downs with a simple movement; continue)	Farmer carries ~55 lb with basic calisthenics between drops under load
Trunk strength (Chassis Integrity)	Sandbag Cross Clean; Sandbag Good Mornings; Sandbag Twist & Toss

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Army — Test Demands vs. How We Train It

Bomb Suit Test Demand (Army)	How We Train It
Maneuvering under load	20 Minute Training blocks under load
Walking up stairs in the suit	Step-ups under load
Carrying ~50-lb implements in the suit	Farmer carries ~55 lb under load
Basic calisthenics in the suit	In-line lunges and squats under load
Short drags in the suit	Dummy drag segments under load

Questions You May Have

Why keep sessions near 20 minutes?
Because the research states the physical portion of most bomb suit tests runs about 20 minutes, and that’s what we’re preparing for (units can vary).

Why progress the load instead of time?
Starting at ~85 pounds on day one is too intense. Progressing the load, rather than the time, allows for the body to adjust to the physical demands of the load.

Why not progress load and time at the same time?
Changing more than one variable at a time is complicated and difficult to track progress. At MTI, we only progress one variable at a time, progressing two or more becomes to complicated.

Why use a vest and a backpack for loading?
The vest loads the torso similar to a suit. Using just a pack would be a vastly different feel from a bomb suit.

References

• Stewart, I.B., Stewart, K.L., Worringham, C.J., & Costello, J.T. (2014). Physiological tolerance times while wearing explosive ordnance disposal protective clothing in simulated environmental extremes. PLOS ONE, 9(2): e83740.
• Hutchins, K.P., Maley, M.J., Bach, A.J.E., Stewart, K.L., Minett, G.M., & Stewart, I.B. (2025). Ice vests extend physiological work time while wearing explosive ordnance disposal protective clothing in hot and humid conditions. Applied Ergonomics, 122: 104388.
• Stewart, I.B., Rojek, A.M., & Hunt, A.P. (2011). Heat Strain During Explosive Ordnance Disposal. Military Medicine, 176(8), 959–963.
• Johnson, R.F., et al. (1981). Effects of Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Armor on the Gross Body Mobility, Psychomotor Performance, Speech Intelligibility, and Visual Field of Men and Women. DTIC Report ADA110314.