It is believed the fi rst modern The Army formed a 12-person support — and succeeding in some
IED was the bomb that sparked Chi- task force that became a joint effort circles. To stop the IED, or at least
cago’s Haymarket Riot in 1886. Be- by 2004. Though this team is credit- reduce its impact, JIEDDO decided
larussian IEDs wreaked havoc with ed with the use of armor on person- on an end user’s approach — as un-
German railway trains during World nel and vehicles and deploying derscored by its mantra and method-
War II. More recently, in 1983, an robots to rid the roads of the ology, “Attack the network. Defeat the
IED destroyed the Marine barracks devices, it was not enough. Service device. Train the force.” Introduced
team redundancy by original JIEDDO chief retired
was effectively Army Gen. Montgomery C. Meigs,
nullifying crucial this mission has continued under
interoperability. Army Lt. Gen. Thomas F. Metz.
In 2005, DoD re- Metz is proud to share breaking
defi ned the Joint news: “We’ve been meeting, and it’s
IED Task Force, been decided JIEDDO will be a per-
and within a year, manent organization.” This is crucial
the permanent in the defense world — and crucial to
Joint IED Defeat his mission. Metz is well aware of the
Organization was advantages as well as the disadvantag-
in Beruit, Lebanon, killing 299 U.S.
and French personnel. Closer to
home, an IED destroyed a federal
building in Oklahoma City, killing
168 people. On a more protracted
scale, the British battled a reported
7,000 IEDs in their 30-year struggle
over Northern Ireland. In the years
following the U.S. invasions of Af-
ghanistan and Iraq, America’s en-
counters with the IED have
surpassed those of Great Britain,
though the exact fi gure is classifi ed.
Modern Manhattan Project
In the summer of 2003, the IED
was fast becoming the No. 1 killer
of U.S. troops on the ground in Iraq.
Enemy bomb makers were believed to
be the confl ict’s “operational center
of gravity.” By October, a concerned
U.S. Central Command chief Army born. Today, JIEDDO boasts nearly The name is new, but IEDs
Gen. John Abizaid alerted the Penta- 500 people and an FY 2008 budget have been around since the 19th-
gon and echoed the words of his staff of $4.4 billion. century Haymarket Riot (top).
asking for an effort along the lines of Today, IEDs can be disguised as
World War II’s Manhattan Project Attack the network. Defeat everyday items, like this shopping
to defeat the deadly enemy. Abizaid the device. Train the force. bag (above) that was found filled
might have been comparing the The IED has had unexpected strate- with mortar rounds, homemade
bloodletting U.S. forces had experi- gic consequences, working to bleed explosives, and detonators. An
enced in the Pacifi c Theater 60 years America’s war on terrorism of mili- IED left this car (facing page)
earlier to the toll exacted in Iraq. tary might, political will, and public almost unrecognizable.
9 2 M I L I T A R Y O F F I C E R S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 8 PHOTOS: ABOVE, PATRICK BAZ/AFP; TOP, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS; RIGHT, ALI JASIM/REUTERS
SSept_
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