U.S. Army Capt. Travis Chewning-Kulick is fast. Very fast. Specifically he’s very fast when inside a U.S. Army explosive ordnance disposal suit. Chewning-Kulick, commander of the 752nd Ordnance Company (Explosive Ordnance Disposal), just set a Guinness World Record for the fastest mile in a bomb disposal suit.
His time? 7 minutes and 4 seconds.
Chewning-Kulick set the new world record on the morning of Friday, April 25 at Fort Cavazos in Texas. The official ruling from the Guinness World Records takes roughly six months to be confirmed, but multiple witnesses on hand reported his time, which was a third of a minute faster than the standing record.
He ran, as swiftly as the cumbersome gear would let him. Why? According to the Army, the captain did it to “demonstrate the physical and mental fortitude required of EOD technicians.” It was an idea planted by his old platoon sergeant. During one physical training session, the sergeant challenged him to try to break the record one day, Chewning-Kulick told the Killeen Daily Herald.
The EOD gear is no joke. A full bomb suit weighs approximately 50 pounds. That might not be as much as the amount of gear soldiers wear on patrol, but the nature of the bomb suit leaves a cumbersome fit. Layers of kevlar and other protective material leave limbs bulky. A large and heavy helmet can pull on the head at a run. Getting his legs to fully extend or move his arms to help one’s gait is a challenge. A self-described “avid runner,” he still acknowledged the challenge of having that much weight sloshing around as he ran.
“First lap, I probably went out a little too fast because I got excited with the crowd,” Chewning-Kulick told the Army after the record setting mile. “I found something that last 400 to bring it home.”
Chewning-Kulick time is 20 seconds faster than the previous record holder. British Army officer Mark Gibbs ran a 7 minute, 24 second mile in a bomb suit in December 2017, for a charity event. That record has stood for more than seven years, according to Guinness World Records. In 2021, Army Capt. Kaitlyn Hernandez set the world record for the fastest mile in a bomb suit for women, with a time of 10 minutes, 23 seconds.
Although the run was all Chewning-Kulick, the overall event was a team effort. Other soldiers from 752nd Ordnance Company were on hand to help strap him into the heavy bomb protection suit, take data before the run, and track his speed, time and weight around the track. His senior enlisted advisor, 1st Sgt. Edwin Vazquez, ran the mile with him to help him keep pace. Prior to the officer’s record setting run, other EOD team leaders stationed at Fort Cavazos also put on bomb protection suits and ran a relay around the same track.