‘Bomb disposal is boring’

Decorated former bomb-disposal operator Kim Hughes talks at length to Kate Gerbeau about how Hollywood portrays the job and what it’s actually like.Since leaving the Army in 2020 he’s worked as a consultant on films, and has written two thrillers “Operation Black Key” and “Operation Certain Death”.He tells BFBS Sitrep about his three tours of duty in Afghanistan – how you defuse a bomb, what you do if a firefight breaks out, and when you decide to walk away.And he tells us why films like The Hurt Locker are ‘horrendous’ on detail, but would look like ‘watching paint dry’ if they were realistic.