The JIEDDO IED hit list includes JIEDDO deputy director Army them, and it sure beats wearing a
radio-controlled, command-wired, Brig. Gen. Anthony Tata, who has suit,” says Metz, referring to soldiers
and vehicle-, personnel-, and even seen his share of IEDs in Afghani- and Marines facing IEDs on the
animal-borne IEDs. Explosively stan, says, “The issue with ‘defeat ground in thick, unwieldy, and hot
formed penetrators, characteristic of the device’ is you have already lost bomb suits. Motorized blowers clear
complex ambushes — and of particu- the battle since the IED is already in the roads of dirt and often expose
lar concern to JIEDDO — account place.” Still, Tata acknowledges it is IEDs. There are optical surveillance
for 20 percent of IED fatalities. But crucial to remain abreast of develop- systems like Eagle Eye, a mobile in-
the most lethal IEDs are those that ments in the devices “so we can de- telligence surveillance and reconais-
attack a vehicle’s underbelly, account- feat them before they can harm our sance sensor tower system.
ing for close to 50 percent of fatali- people,” he says. “It’s just the reality.” Jammers, or mobile electronic
ties. To mitigate this threat, JIEDDO More than half the JIEDDO countermeasures, have made their
worked to develop the mine-resistant budget is devoted to defeating the way into theater in large numbers,
ambush-protected vehicle, which, if IED. Technology becomes para- because they have been extremely ef-
reports are accurate, has been suc- mount and innovation in the fi eld fective at interrupting remote signals
cessful in the force protection arena is a team effort, according to Tata. sent by the enemy to detonate IEDs.
— at least for the moment. Finding the device might happen They go by tough-guy names like
through surveillance, but forces Guardian, Chameleon, and Duke. But
Technology as a team sport will neutralize it with technology. the enemy continues to adapt, and the
No one at JIEDDO seems to like IED defeat gear runs the gamut. U.S. responds accordingly. Metz notes
moving from attacking the network Robots check out what might be an the jammers posed a challenge at fi rst:
to defeating the device, going from IED and send data and images back “We had to train everyone on the cor-
an offensive to defensive posture. to the operator. “The soldiers love rect use of frequency. They’d inadver-
PHOTO: MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST 1ST CLASS TIFFINI M. JONES, USN S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 8 M I L I T A R Y O F F I C E R 9 5
SSept_
IED_JIEDDO.indd 95ept_
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