Stephen Phillips

Proximity: a Novel of the Navy's Elite Bomb Squad Stephen Phillips

EOD - "It's a lot like brain surgery, except if we screw up the patient detonates.... Oh yeah, and we do it underwater."
- A Navy EOD Technician

The Sailors of the United States Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) community "perform under pressure" in the hazardous job of bomb disposal, often deep beneath the sea...alone.

An EOD Technician must have the brains of an engineer, the hands of a surgeon, and the courage of a martyr. In the U. S. Navy, carrier flight operations only occur under the watchful eye of EOD Techs ready to respond to ordnance accidents. U. S. Marines assault enemy beachheads only after EOD Techs clear the littoral seas and landing zones of mines. The U. S. Secret Service even relies on military bomb squads to protect the President and visiting foreign dignitaries. Perhaps the best testimony of their value is that when the Navy needs to place a limpet mine under an enemy ship it tasks the Navy SEALs, but to respond to such an attack - the Navy summons EOD.

Proximity highlights the exciting work of one EOD detachment as they become enmeshed in the efforts of a terrorist coalition operating both in Europe and the United States. Lieutenant "Jazz" Jascinski and the men of Detachment Four become the key to helping the FBI apprehend these terrorists - until their unique skills place them under suspicion. To protect themselves, the Techs must race to find the culprits before they become the next victims...

Advance Praise for Proximity:

"Stephen Phillips is the real deal; a Navy EOD Officer and front line operator in the war against terrorism. Proximity is a well crafted thriller-- enthralling, realistic and frightening. Move over Tom Clancy."

- CHUCK PFARRER, author of Warrior Soul and Killing Che

"Steve Phillips is a member of a select group who live by the creed `Initial success or total failure.' EOD Technicians are the special operations community's unsung heroes...until now. Proximity is a great read and hopefully one of many more books by Phillips."

- STEVE WATERMAN, author of Just a Sailor