CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — Browns Island is a small federally owned island right off the coast of Camp Lejeune.
The Marine base has been having issues with the public trespassing on the island, a place that's unsafe because of the possible explosives buried beneath the sand.
“We can't make any of these areas safe,” Capt. Will Mueller said. “There's always something that's hidden.”
Mueller is an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) technician, which means he's in charge of locating potential explosives on Browns Island. If Mueller finds anything, it's his and his team's job to safely detonate it.
He's been working with explosives for 18 years and says it's a risky but important job.
“It's dangerous for us to be out here, and we have several years experience in the EOD community,” Mueller said. “So if it's dangerous for us, it would be much more dangerous for anyone who is uninitiated.”
Camp Lejeune has a team that goes out on patrol boats every day to warn people away from the beaches at Browns Island.
They want people to know that it's not safe to anchor their boat, walk on the island or do any bottom-disturbing activities in the area. There are high explosive warning signs all over telling people to keep out.
Nicholas Klaus is a range control officer at Camp Lejeune. He says Browns Island and the surrounding area is a target area where they've practiced firing drills since the 1940s.
“This area is in what we call the surface danger zone,” Klaus said. “So although we were not purposely aiming at this area, rounds passed through here. And sometimes they may malfunction and go places we don't want them to go.”
There are lots of unexploded ordnances, or UXOs, all around, and storms often shift the sand, exposing new potential threats.
“These things are dangerous,” Klaus said. “It may look like just a piece of rusty metal, but it, in all likelihood, could be an unexploded bomb. And if you shift it the wrong way, or it just decides now is the time to go off, it can go off and certainly can injure you.”
As summertime brings more people to the local beaches and boatways, Mueller and his team want to remind the public to follow the signs and stay safe.
“I think it's important to remember these ordnances are designed to kill people,” Mueller said. “And it doesn't matter who you are, the ordnance doesn't know. So that's why it's so important to stay away from this island.”
Mueller says that there have been no major injuries on the island as far back as the records go, and he wants to keep it that way. Browns Island is federal property, so landing is illegal and considered trespassing. You can find more on this website.